Content reviewed by:
Alex Shulman
Since 2013, Shulman & Hill Injury Lawyers has represented injured New Yorkers in workers’ compensation and serious injury claims, including construction, industrial, maintenance, and equipment-related accidents.
Our Queens welding accident attorneys bring over 200 years of combined experience to cases where jobsite safety, defective equipment, insurance coverage, and third-party liability all need close review.
If you were hurt while welding, Shulman & Hill can help you understand your legal options. Contact us today for a free consultation with a Queens workers’ compensation lawyer.
What Causes Welding Injuries on the Job?
Welding accidents are often traced to preventable safety failures. The cause may be a defective tool, unsafe work area, poor ventilation, missing protective gear, or a contractor that allowed dangerous work to continue.
Common causes include:
- Defective welding machines, torches, regulators, or cables.
- Gas leaks from cylinders, hoses, or fittings.
- Sparks igniting nearby debris, insulation, chemicals, or fuel.
- Arc flash from inadequate eye and face protection.
- Poor ventilation during welding, cutting, or brazing.
- Unsafe work in tanks, pits, basements, or other tight spaces.
- Falls from ladders, scaffolds, lifts, or platforms during welding work.
- Electrical shock from damaged equipment or unsafe grounding.
- Burns from molten metal, slag, flames, or heated surfaces.
- Falling steel, pipes, tools, or materials near the work area.
Our Queens personal injury lawyers look at what the worker was asked to do, what hazards were present, who controlled the site, and whether the equipment and work area met safety requirements.
Welding Injuries That Can Affect Your Work and Health
A welding accident can cause more than a temporary injury. Some workers need surgery, skin grafts, respiratory care, eye treatment, pain management, or months of rehabilitation.
Burn and Explosion Injuries
Burns from flames, sparks, molten metal, or explosions can damage skin, muscle, nerves, and connective tissue. Severe burns may lead to scarring, infection, limited movement, and permanent pain.
Eye and Vision Injuries
Arc flash, flying debris, chemical exposure, and heat can injure the eyes. A worker may suffer blurred vision, corneal burns, retinal damage, or partial vision loss.
Fume and Respiratory Injuries
Welding fumes and gases can injure the lungs, especially in enclosed or poorly ventilated areas. Symptoms may include coughing, chest tightness, shortness of breath, dizziness, headaches, or long-term breathing limitations.
Shock, Fall, and Trauma Injuries
Electrical contact can cause shock, cardiac symptoms, nerve damage, or a fall. Welding work performed at height can also lead to spinal injuries, broken bones, head trauma, shoulder injuries, knee injuries, or fatal harm.
Workers’ Compensation for Welding Accidents in Queens
If you were hurt while doing your job, New York workers’ compensation may cover medical care and wage benefits. You may have a claim even if the accident was not your employer’s fault. You may also have medical benefits even if you keep working after the injury.
Workers’ compensation may provide:
- Emergency medical care.
- Hospital treatment.
- Doctor visits and therapy.
- Medication and medical equipment.
- Wage benefits if your injury keeps you out of work.
- Reduced earnings benefits if you return to lower-paying work because of the injury.
- Awards for certain permanent injuries.
- Death benefits for eligible family members.
A Queens workers’ compensation lawyer can help if your claim is denied, treatment is delayed, wage checks are wrong, or the insurance carrier argues that your condition is not job-related.
Shulman & Hill represents injured New York workers, including many blue-collar and public-sector workers. We do not represent federal employees, including USPS workers, because those claims use a separate federal process.
When a Welding Accident May Lead to a Lawsuit
Workers’ compensation may not be the only claim. If a non-employer caused or contributed to the injury, you may also have a third-party lawsuit.
A third-party case may be available when:
- A general contractor failed to control dangerous hot work conditions.
- A subcontractor created a fire, electrical, fume, or fall hazard.
- A property owner ignored unsafe work conditions.
- A maintenance company failed to repair faulty equipment.
- A rental company supplied unsafe welding equipment.
- A manufacturer sold a defective torch, regulator, cable, machine, mask, or safety device.
- Another company stored flammable materials too close to welding work.
A third-party lawsuit may allow you to pursue damages workers’ compensation usually does not pay, including pain and suffering, full lost income, future earning loss, and the long-term effect of the injury on your daily life.
Evidence We Look for in a Welding Accident Case
Welding cases can depend on evidence that disappears quickly. A jobsite may be cleaned. A gas cylinder may be removed. A cable may be replaced. A burned area may be repaired before photographs are taken.
Our investigation may focus on:
- Photos or videos of the work area.
- Incident reports.
- Fire reports or emergency response records.
- Welding equipment, cables, torches, regulators, and gas cylinders.
- Hot work permits or safety plans, when available.
- Ventilation records.
- Job hazard analyses.
- Safety meeting records.
- Contracts between owners, contractors, and subcontractors.
- Maintenance and inspection records.
- Witness statements.
- Medical records and work restrictions.
- Pay records and proof of missed work.
Shulman & Hill conducts in-depth in-house investigations because serious injury cases require more than forms and phone calls. We work to identify the companies, insurance policies, and evidence tied to the injury.
What Our Queens Welding Accident Lawyers Can Do for You
After a serious welding accident, you may be dealing with pain, medical visits, bills, missed income, and calls from insurance representatives. Shulman & Hill can take over the legal work and help you make informed decisions.
Our team can:
- File or strengthen your workers’ compensation claim.
- Challenge denied or delayed benefits.
- Review medical and wage records.
- Investigate the worksite and welding equipment.
- Identify contractors, property owners, vendors, or manufacturers involved.
- Review whether a third-party lawsuit is available.
- Analyze New York Labor Law issues.
- Communicate with insurance carriers and defense attorneys.
- Seek the full recovery available under New York law.
Our firm has recovered over $1 billion for clients and has served more than 26,000 people. We are based in Manhattan, with offices across the boroughs, and we bring local access with the resources needed for serious injury claims.
Contact a Queens Welding Accident Attorney Today
If you were burned, shocked, exposed to fumes, injured in a blast, hurt in a fall, or otherwise harmed during welding work in Queens, do not wait for the insurance company or contractor to define your claim.
Contact Shulman & Hill today for a free consultation with a welding accident attorney in Queens. New York, We Got You.
