Queens Construction Accident Lawyers

The attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy have decades of experience representing workers in Queens construction accident cases. Our lengthy history of results includes a $7 million settlement for a 25-year-old carpenter who was left disabled after being struck in the face by a falling metal clamp at a construction site in Astoria, and a $6.5 million jury verdict for a union worker who sustained permanent back injuries during a demolition project in College Point.

Our firm understands how deeply stressful it can be for construction accident victims to simultaneously physically and mentally recover from their accident, pay the bills despite being unable to work, and care for their families. That’s why our attorneys dedicate themselves to fighting relentlessly on behalf of injured workers whose lives have been altered by preventable job site accidents.

Need to Know:

• The attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy have recovered over $100,000,000 in Queens construction accident cases, including ladder falls, scaffolding accidents, trench and building collapses, and other job site falls, as well as struck-by accidents and injuries caused by heavy machinery.
• Construction workers generally cannot sue their employers if they are injured on a job site. However, they may able to file a third-party lawsuit against another entity responsible for worksite conditions and safety, such as the site owner, developer, or general contractor.
• If you were injured in a construction accident, you should reach out to an attorney for legal advice as soon as possible. Experienced construction injury attorneys know what evidence to look for at a job site and how to preserve it. Promptly connecting with an experienced construction accident lawyer will ensure you don’t miss important legal deadlines for your case.

In This Article:

• Why Choose Block O’Toole & Murphy for Your Queens Construction Accident Case?
• Case Study: $1,400,000 Settlement for a Carpenter Who Lost His Fingers at a Long Island City Construction Site
• What Factors Impact Queens Construction Accidents?
• Case Study: $5,885,000 Jury Verdict for an Undocumented Worker Who Fell at an Unsafe Job Site in Astoria
• Notable Verdicts and Settlements in Queens Construction Injury Cases

Why Choose Block O’Toole & Murphy for Your Queens Construction Accident Case?

Exceptional results: According to ALM’s VerdictSearch, since 2012, Block O’Toole & Murphy has reported more case results exceeding $1,000,000 than any other firm in New York State. Our strong reputation and history of landmark verdicts and settlements help us and our current clients during negotiations with defense and insurance teams. Since they know our firm is capable of obtaining unparalleled results, they’re more likely to offer higher settlement offers from the very beginning of a case to avoid the prospect of a risky trial.

Our top Queens construction accident results include:

• A $7,000,000 settlement for a union carpenter who was dismantling a scaffold at a construction site in Astoria when he was struck in the face with a five-pound metal clamp that fell from approximately 20 feet above him. The accident caused multiple facial injuries and neck pain that necessitated a cervical spinal cord stimulator, leaving him with a left-hand tremor. We argued that the defendants were at fault for failing to properly secure or remove the clamp from a pipe that was being lowered.
• A $6,500,000 jury verdict for a union worker who was completing demolition work at a construction site in College Point when he was struck in the lower back by a beam that another worker threw from a 16-foot-high scaffold. When conservative treatment failed, he underwent spinal fusion surgery, but it didn’t resolve his pain and he remained permanently disabled from employment.
• A $5,885,000 jury verdict for an undocumented worker who fell from a ladder placed atop a scaffold during a renovation project in Astoria. He suffered severe wrist, arm and back injuries that he was not able to fully recover from even after undergoing multiple surgeries.

Authorities in Labor Law: Our attorneys are highly knowledgeable on New York’s labor laws. They use their experience to consistently recover strong verdicts and settlements for construction accident victims, advocate for the rights of workers, and educate the legal community.

For example, Partner Daniel P. O’Toole has served as Co-Chair of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) Labor Law Committee for over a decade. The committee works to protect and advance legislation that promotes construction worker safety.

Partner David L. Scher is also heavily involved with NYSTLA. He is the current Vice Chair of the Judiciary Committee and has previously held the positions of President (2024) and Co-Chair of the Labor Law Committee. Scher often gives lectures on labor law and construction accident law across New York State, and spoke at NYSTLA’s Construction Accidents From the Trenches seminar annually from 2020 to 2025.

Scher was additionally chosen to write an amicus curiae brief to the Court of Appeals on behalf of an organization that supports worker’s rights, resulting in a landmark decision that expanded the scope of Labor Law 240. Also known as the Scaffold Law, LL 240 protects construction workers involved in fall-related accidents.

Successful Strategy: We take a robust approach from the very outset in order to build as strong a case as possible for construction accident victims.

• Assigning at least two lawyers to every case: We also limit the number of cases we accept in order to provide individualized attention, high-quality service, and the benefits of multiple legal minds to every client.
• Preparing every case for trial: Although most injury cases settle before trial, we’ve found that treating a case as if it will go to verdict strengthens our position. Defense teams typically want to avoid the expense and risk of going to trial, especially when they see our trial record — which includes a $53.5 million verdict for a paralyzed construction worker — and how far we’re willing to take the case to fight for our clients.
• Hiring experts: We have the resources to hire the best experts in the field, from medical experts to accident reconstructionists. Their analysis can help us better understand how the accident occurred and its impact on our client. With this knowledge, we can pursue the fairest possible compensation.

Case Study: $1,400,000 Settlement for a Carpenter Who Lost His Fingers at a Long Island City Construction Site

In one Queens case handled by Block O’Toole & Murphy, the accident took place at a development project in Long Island City. Our client was a union carpenter tasked with operating a table saw to cut wood, and at one point his pants leg got caught on the foot pedal. Terrifyingly, the blade came forward and cut two of his fingers.

The Injuries and Their Impact

Our client was rushed to the hospital by ambulance, where he was informed that he would need to undergo amputation of his left middle and ring fingers. He ultimately underwent three operations: the initial amputation, and two further revisions.

Needless to say, losing his fingers was a devastating turn of events for our client. He was very dedicated to construction as a vocation and wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to return to manual labor, since he now struggled with everyday tasks like tying his shoes.

After sustaining these permanent injuries, his hand was extremely sensitive to cold and touch. Accidentally bumping his hand caused excruciating pain, which limited his job opportunities and forced him to give up playing basketball, baseball, and softball in his free time.

Building the Case and Taking it to Trial

We argued that the defendants violated Labor Law 241(6), which requires that site owners and general contractors provide “reasonable and adequate protection and safety” to construction workers. New York Industrial Code Part 23 specifically requires proper guards for saws. However, our client was never provided with blade guards for the table saw he was operating.

In LL 241(6) cases, comparative negligence can apply. This means that if the case goes to trial, the jury can assign percentages of fault for both the plaintiff and the defendant. Our strategy aimed to reduce our client’s liability as much as possible, so that he could maximize his compensation.

During our investigation, we learned that there had been another sawblade accident at this construction site just three weeks before our client’s. That worker had to receive stitches, and he confirmed there were no blade guards present at the time of his accident either. His incident generated an accident report, showing that the defendants were well aware of this hazard on their job site and did nothing to rectify it.

When the case went to trial, we leveraged this information to emphasize that the construction site had a pattern of prioritizing productivity over worker safety. Their negligence led to the preventable accident that forever altered the course of our client’s life. The case settled just before summations for $1,400,000.

What Factors Impact Queens Construction Accidents?

Construction is always ongoing in the “world’s borough,” and unfortunately, this rapid growth comes with safety challenges. Major development projects and the presence of non-union job sites both contribute to the frequency of construction accidents in Queens. This is a dangerous industry, and workers are the ones who tend to suffer due to hazardous or inadequate job site conditions, equipment, or safety gear.

Increase in Residential and Commercial Construction

There has recently been a surge in demand for Queens rental units, partially driven by Manhattan’s increasing unaffordability. The borough is currently preparing for a housing boom following the approval of several neighborhood rezoning plans:

• The OneLIC Neighborhood Plan will bring 15,000 new units of housing to Long Island City, the most for a neighborhood rezoning in the history of New York City.
• The Jamaica Neighborhood Plan will allow for taller, denser development, clearing the way for 12,000 new units of housing to be constructed across 230 blocks in Jamaica. It will also create two million square feet of commercial and community space.
• Willets Point Commons, an affordable housing development, opened its doors to the first group of residents in 2026. There are plans to construct additional homes, businesses, a school, a hotel, and a soccer stadium in Willets Point, an underutilized industrial area east of Citi Field that was previously home to just one resident.

These new developments are expected to create many job opportunities for Queens construction workers. Ensuring that they have safe working conditions and adequate equipment should be the utmost priority for property owners and general contractors.

Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. According to the May 2026 Deadly Skyline report, New York City construction workers are more than six times likelier to experience a fatal workplace incident compared to the average worker citywide, and the NYC Department of Buildings reports that falls are the leading cause of construction-related injuries and fatalities.

Block O’Toole & Murphy has handled several cases involving construction workers who fell while working on multi-story housing projects, including:

• An $11,000,000 settlement for a worker who fell three stories while working as a masonry foreman on the construction of a new residential apartment building. He suffered multiple pelvic and spinal fractures that left him permanently disabled.
• A $2,200,000 settlement for a laborer who sustained shoulder and back injuries from falling into an opening on the fifth floor of a building. He was performing demolition work at the time for a project to convert five buildings from commercial to residential use.

Modernizing John F. Kennedy International Airport

Located in Jamaica, Queens, John F. Kennedy International Airport is undergoing extensive redevelopment as part of a $19 billion plan that was first unveiled in 2017.

By the time of the project’s conclusion, JFK will be transformed into a world-class transportation hub suitable for an airport that handles over 62 million passengers a year, with new terminals, expansion and modernization of existing terminals, streamlined roadways, and new shopping and dining spaces. All told, the project will create approximately 10,000 to 15,000 new jobs, many of them in construction.

Although this investment in infrastructure is exciting, it may also pose dangers to the laborers involved. Airports can be hazardous places even when massive construction projects aren’t ongoing. For example, in one case handled by Block O’Toole & Murphy, we recovered $3,175,000 for a worker injured in a forklift accident at JFK.

Non-Union Construction Work in Queens

Many of the low-rise or mixed-use buildings in Queens that require renovations are owned by small landlords or independent family businesses. They tend to hire day laborers who do not belong to a union.

Studies by the New York Committee for Occupational Safety & Health (NYCOSH) consistently demonstrate that non-union job sites are more dangerous for workers. In fact, NYCOSH found that 81% of New York State construction workers who were killed on the job in 2024 were non-union. This unfortunate pattern on non-union sites is typically driven by fewer safety precautions and oversight, a lack of formal procedures for reporting hazards, and pressure from bosses to prioritize productivity and profits over safety.

Immigrant Construction Workers in Queens

Immigrant workers are especially at risk, facing disproportionately high rates of serious injuries and fatalities on construction sites. This disparity is fueled by factors that can leave immigrant workers vulnerable to exploitation and make it more difficult for them to voice their concerns or refuse dangerous work, such as:

• Dangerous job assignments
• Weak enforcement of worker protections
• Limited access to safety training and equipment
• Language barriers
• Job insecurity and financial concerns
• Greater fear of retaliation

Case Study: $5,885,000 Jury Verdict for an Undocumented Worker Who Fell at an Unsafe Job Site in Astoria

In one injury case handled by Block O’Toole & Murphy, our client was an undocumented, non-union laborer who was hired to do carpentry work. The project was a renovation of a one-story commercial building in Astoria.

On the day of his accident, our client was tasked with painting a ceiling beam. It was about 18-20 feet from the floor, too high to be accessed alone by either the ladder or scaffold that were available at the job site. The only option to get the work done with the available materials was for our client to place an A-frame ladder on top of a Baker rolling scaffold.

The wheels of the scaffold were locked when he ascended, but as he painted, the scaffold shifted and the ladder tipped over. Our client plummeted to the floor, landing painfully on his right side. His foreman drove him to Mount Sinai Queens.

The Injuries and Their Impact on Our Client’s Life

The fall caused severe wrist, arm and back injuries. Our client required three surgeries to repair his wrist and spine, and one of his doctors believed he would require an additional wrist operation in the future.

Unfortunately, our client never made a full recovery even after extensive medical treatment. He continued to experience weakness and limited mobility in his hand, as well as back and leg pain. This left him unable to do basic tasks that he once took for granted, like picking up a gallon of milk.

Worst of all, his injuries impacted his ability to care for his young family, such as playing at the park with his children or holding his newborn baby. After the accident, he and his partner could no longer afford their three-bedroom apartment, so they had to move into a relative’s house and share one cramped bedroom with their three children. This preventable accident had turned an entire family’s lives upside down, leaving their future uncertain.

Taking a LL 240 Case to Trial

Labor Law 240 requires site owners or contractors to provide proper safety equipment and devices to workers to prevent gravity-related accidents. The law imposes strict liability, or fault, on defendants who fail to comply.

Since our client’s fall could have been prevented if he had been provided proper equipment to do his job safely (such as the correct size scaffold), Partner Stephen J. Murphy moved for summary judgment on liability, pursuant to Labor Law 240(1). The judge granted our motion, finding the defendants 100% at fault for the accident.

While most injury cases settle before trial, negotiations stalled when it became apparent to Murphy that the defense refused to make an offer that fairly reflected the damages in this case — possibly because they thought they could take advantage of an undocumented worker. Undeterred, he took the case to trial to fight for our client.

With liability already decided, a damages-only trial was held at Queens County Supreme Court. After hearing all the evidence we provided on our client’s injuries and their impact on his life, the jury returned a verdict of $5,885,000.

Notable Verdicts and Settlements in Queens Construction Injury Cases

Block O’Toole & Murphy has obtained significant recoveries for the victims of Queens construction accidents, including the following results:

• $7,000,000 settlement for a carpenter who was struck in the face by a falling 5-pound metal clamp in Astoria
• $6,500,000 jury verdict for a union worker who was struck in the back by a beam at a construction site in College Point
• $5,885,000 jury verdict for an undocumented worker who fell while painting a ceiling beam during an Astoria renovation project
• $4,650,000 settlement for a worker with multiple injuries after falling during a renovation project at an Astoria warehouse
• $4,000,000 settlement for a construction worker who required a lumbar fusion and a total knee replacement after a ladder fall
• $4,000,000 settlement for a union worker who fell from an unsecured scaffold onto his lower back
• $3,720,000 settlement for a commercial glass worker who fell two stories through a hole at a construction site in Bayside
• $3,625,000 settlement for a worker who fell from an extension ladder while installing windows, requiring two ankle surgeries
• $3,400,000 settlement for a union carpenter who fell into an elevator pit from a scaffold
• $3,175,000 settlement for a man who was struck by a forklift while making a delivery in Jamaica
• $3,075,000 jury verdict for a plumber who was injured in an excavator accident while working on a construction project at St. John’s University
• $2,400,000 settlement for a construction worker injured in a ladder fall at a building in Flushing
• $2,400,000 settlement for a worker who suffered severe injuries, including a partial amputation, when the saw he was using kicked back
• $2,200,000 settlement for a plumber who fell from a ladder while working on a project to convert commercial buildings into private residences
• $2,100,000 settlement for a laborer with feet and spine injuries after the trench he was working in collapsed
• $1,995,000 settlement for a truck driver who fell into a hole at a construction site
• $1,850,000 settlement for a worker who needed spinal surgery after the pull-down ladder he was using detached, causing him to fall eight feet
• $1,750,000 settlement for a worker who fell off a ladder placed on top of an unsteady rolling scaffold at an Astoria construction site
• $1,625,000 settlement for a worker with broken ribs and back injuries requiring spinal fusion after falling from a ladder during a Queens mall renovation project
• $1,600,000 settlement for a carpenter who suffered shoulder injuries, spinal injuries, and rib fractures when the scaffold he was working on tipped over
• $1,400,000 settlement for a union carpenter who lost his fingertips while operating a table saw in Long Island City

If you were hurt in a construction accident, reach out to the skilled attorneys at Block O’Toole & Murphy for legal advice. You can reach us by calling 212-736-5300, or by filling out our online contact form. We serve all five boroughs of New York City as well as Long Island, the entirety of New York State and New Jersey.