Content reviewed by:
Alex Shulman
There are three main parties who could pay after a forklift accident on a job site: workers’ compensation, forklift manufacturers, or outside contractors. In some cases, you may also be able to directly sue your employer.
You can talk to a forklift accident lawyer in New York if you’ve been injured and want to discuss options for payment.
Common Types of Forklift Accidents
The typical forklift weighs several thousand pounds and can cause massive injuries if it collides with or crushes a worker. Forklift accidents can cause broken bones, fractures, traumatic brain injuries, blunt-force trauma wounds, and amputations.
Below are some of the most common types of forklift accidents on a typical job site:
- Forklift rollovers
- Collisions with moving objects
- Caught-between accidents
- Lift-pinning injuries
- Falls from forklift platform
- Injuries from falling forklift loads
- Electrocutions from faulty wiring
Workers in the transportation and warehousing industries show some of the highest rates of forklift injuries, according to forklift safety data from the National Safety Council.
Workers’ Compensation for Forklift Injuries
In most cases, when someone is injured while on the job, workers’ compensation insurance will pay for their medical bills and lost wages. All employers in New York are required to carry no-fault workers’ compensation insurance. If you’ve been injured by a forklift while on the job, you need to report it to your employer, who’ll then file a claim.
Workers’ compensation in New York is no-fault, so it will pay for injuries regardless of who’s responsible. It will cover your necessary medical expenses and replace up to two-thirds of your average weekly income, depending on your degree of disability. It will also pay a death benefit to surviving family members if you are killed in a work accident.
Note, however, that workers’ compensation will not pay non-economic damages for pain and suffering.
Product Liability Lawsuit Against Forklift Manufacturers
If the forklift malfunctioned and caused your injury, you could potentially file a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer. When a product is defective due to its design or manufacturing errors, the manufacturer can be responsible for injuries it causes.
Common forklift defects may include:
- Hydraulic system leaks
- Piston manufacturing defects
- Faulty balance
- Defective brakes
- Steering system failures
- Electrical system failures
In New York, forklift manufacturers can be held strictly liable for injuries from defective products. This means that you don’t necessarily have to prove negligence, unlike in most other kinds of personal injury lawsuits.
Suing an Outside Contractor
If the forklift injury happened due to the actions of an outside contractor or third party, you could sue them for your injuries. For example, if your employer hired a contractor to perform construction at the jobsite and you were struck by a contractor driving a forklift, a lawyer can help you file a personal injury lawsuit against the company.
Through a third-party personal injury lawsuit, you can recover compensation for a wide range of your injury-related losses, including:
- Emergency medical bills and continuing medical expenses
- Work income you lost due to being absent
- Reductions in your lifetime expected earnings
- Out-of-pocket injury-related expenses
- Pain and suffering or emotional distress from your injuries
- Mental anguish from scarring and disfigurement
- Loss of capacity to enjoy hobbies or engage in activities
Can I Sue My Employer for Forklift Injuries?
In New York, you usually cannot sue your employer for injuries you sustained while on the job. Workers’ compensation is meant to be the sole remedy for injuries at work. However, there are some circumstances where you may be able to directly sue your employer for injuries from a forklift accident.
No Workers’ Comp
Workers’ compensation insurance usually precludes suing your employer. But if they don’t carry workers’ compensation insurance, there are no restrictions on suing.
You can file a traditional personal injury lawsuit for negligence against them and recover your medical bills, lost work income, and non-economic damages for pain and suffering.
Intentional Harm
You can also sue your employer for forklift injuries if you can prove they intentionally harmed you. In cases of intentional harm, you may also be able to secure punitive damages as well as typical compensation from a personal injury lawsuit.
NY Labor Law Section 240
New York Labor Law Section 240, also called the “scaffolding law,” allows workers to sue property owners and general contractors for “gravity-related” injuries and falls. This could be relevant to forklift injuries if a worker was injured in a fall off the lift or injured by equipment that fell off the lift.
Under Section 240, general contractors, property owners, or project managers could be liable for forklift accidents.
Contact a New York Forklift Injury Lawyer From Shulman & Hill
Do you have any more questions about who pays after a forklift injury on a worksite? If so, contact Shulman & Hill to discuss your case with a New York personal injury lawyer. We have recovered over $1 billion for deserving clients and can offer our legal services to you.