Serving Injured Construction Workers and Their Families

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With over 20 years of experience handling construction accident cases and the trial and appellate levels, John Lavelle has successfully represented victims and their families in their time of need.  John Lavelle is dedicated to providing personalized attention to each client and ensuring that their rights are protected throughout the legal process. He has a proven track record of achieving favorable outcomes for clients and is committed to fighting for justice. 

Be it a fall due to a defective safety device, dangerous conditions existing at a construction site, failure of elevators or lifts and any number of other construction site accidents, John Lavelle has the experience you need to recover fair compensation for your injuries. 

Key provisions in the New York State Labor Law include:

§240(1) (pertaining to falls from heights, gravity-related injuries, falling objects, etc.):

 All contractors and owners and their agents, except owners of one and two-family dwellings who contract for but do not direct or control the work, in the erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning or pointing of a building or structure shall furnish or erect, or cause to be furnished or erected for the performance of such labor, scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, and other devices which shall be so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection to a person so employed. No liability pursuant to this subdivision for the failure to provide protection to a person so employed shall be imposed on professional engineers as provided for in article one hundred forty-five of the education law, architects as provided for in article one hundred forty-seven of such law or landscape architects as provided for in article one hundred forty-eight of such law who do not direct or control the work for activities other than planning and design. This exception shall not diminish or extinguish any liability of professional engineers or architects or landscape architects arising under the common law or any other provision of law 

§200 (Labor Law codification of common law negligence):

 All places to which this chapter applies shall be so constructed, equipped, arranged, operated and conducted as to provide reasonable and adequate protection to the lives, health and safety of all persons employed therein or lawfully frequenting such places. All machinery, equipment, and devices in such places shall be so placed, operated, guarded, and lighted as to provide reasonable and adequate protection to all such persons. The board may make rules to carry into effect the provisions of this section. 

§246(1) (site safety):

 All areas in which construction, excavation or demolition work is being performed shall be so constructed, shored, equipped, guarded, arranged, operated and conducted as to provide reasonable and adequate protection and safety to the persons employed therein or lawfully frequenting such places. The commissioner may make rules to carry into effect the provisions of this subdivision, and the owners and contractors and their agents for such work, except owners of one and two-family dwellings who contract for but do not direct or control the work, shall comply therewith. 

Over the past several years, John Lavelle has helped shape the law in Labor Law Construction Accident cases in both the First Department and Second Department. By briefing and arguing appeals for his own clients and as appellate counsel to other firms, John pushes the boundaries of the law and helps both his own clients and the plaintiff's bar as a whole. 

Consultations are always free, and we will come to you.