Content reviewed by:
Alex Shulman
If you were injured while welding at work, Shulman & Hill Injury Lawyers can help guide you through the claims process.
Since 2013, we have represented injured New Yorkers in serious workplace injury cases. Our Greenburgh welding accident lawyers help metal fabricators, pipefitters, apprentices, laborers, welders, and contractors pursue the benefits and compensation available under the law.
Contact Shulman & Hill today for a free consultation with a Greenburgh workers’ compensation lawyer.
Filing a Workers’ Compensation Claim After a Welding Accident
After a welding injury, report the accident to your employer as soon as you can. Written notice is best. Include the date, location, welding task, equipment involved, and every injured body part.
In New York, injured workers generally must notify their employer within 30 days. You should also file Form C-3 with the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board.
In most cases, that form must be filed within two years of the accident or within two years of when you knew, or should have known, that your condition was work-related.
Our firm can help you:
- Prepare and file the correct forms.
- Identify all injured body parts.
- Gather medical records.
- Respond to insurer requests.
- Challenge a denial.
- Prepare for hearings.
- Address independent medical examination findings.
- Review settlement terms before you sign.
Insurers often dispute whether welding work caused the injury, whether you can return to work, or whether treatment is related to the accident. Our Greenburgh personal injury lawyers build the record needed to answer those defenses.
Why Work With Our Greenburgh Welding Accident Lawyers at Shulman & Hill?
Shulman & Hill represents injured workers across New York. We have recovered over $1 billion for clients and bring more than 200 years of combined experience to serious workplace injury cases.
Our firm is not built on a high-volume model. We focus on strategy, proof, and results. That approach is especially valuable in welding accident cases, where medical causation, site control, safety violations, and third-party liability must be developed with care.
When we handle your case, we can:
- Deal with the insurance carrier.
- Prepare workers’ compensation filings.
- Gather job site evidence.
- Review third-party liability.
- Challenge unfair medical findings.
- Prepare you for hearings.
- Review settlement offers.
- Seek the full recovery allowed by law.
We know how serious welding injuries can be for workers who depend on their bodies, training, and trade to earn a living. We take that responsibility seriously.
How Welding Accidents Happen on New York Job Sites
Welding work exposes workers to high heat, bright arcs, electricity, compressed gas, fumes, sparks, and heavy materials. On construction sites, repair jobs, fabrication shops, and public works projects, one safety failure can cause severe harm.
Common causes of welding accidents include:
- Missing or defective welding helmets, gloves, sleeves, and eye protection.
- Poor ventilation in tight or enclosed work areas.
- Unsafe electrical grounding.
- Defective welders, torches, cables, regulators, or gas cylinders.
- Missing hot work permits or fire watch procedures.
- Unsafe ladders, scaffolds, lifts, or platforms.
- Poor trade coordination in crowded work zones.
- Lack of lockout/tagout controls near energized equipment.
- Exposure to toxic fumes, gases, or coated metals.
These injuries are not always limited to the burn site. Welding accidents can also damage your eyes, lungs, nerves, hearing, skin, back, neck, shoulders, knees, or hands.
Your Rights After a Welding Injury in Greenburgh
Most employees injured while welding in New York can file for workers’ compensation benefits. Workers’ compensation generally pays benefits without requiring you to prove that your employer caused the accident.
Workers’ compensation may cover:
- Medical treatment for your work injury.
- Prescription medication.
- Travel reimbursement for treatment.
- Temporary wage benefits if you cannot work or can only work reduced hours.
- Awards for permanent loss of use of certain body parts.
- Long-term disability benefits in qualifying cases.
- Death benefits for eligible family members after a fatal work injury.
You may still have a claim even if you kept working after the accident. You may also have a claim if you did not miss time right away but later needed treatment, restrictions, or time off.
Third-Party Claims After Welding Accidents
Workers’ compensation does not pay for pain and suffering. It also does not always cover the full income loss tied to a serious injury. If someone other than your employer caused or contributed to the accident, you may have a separate third–party lawsuit.
A third-party claim may involve:
- A property owner.
- A general contractor.
- A subcontractor.
- A site manager.
- A repair company.
- A manufacturer of defective welding equipment.
- A distributor or seller of unsafe tools or parts.
- A public entity, depending on the worksite.
Third-party claims can seek damages that workers’ compensation does not pay, including pain and suffering, full lost earnings, reduced future earning ability, and other losses tied to the injury.
New York Labor Law Claims for Injured Welders
Welders injured on construction, demolition, repair, alteration, painting, or similar work may have rights under New York Labor Law. These claims often involve unsafe elevation devices, falling objects, unsafe worksite conditions, or violations of the Industrial Code.
Depending on the facts, a case may involve:
Labor Law § 200
This law addresses the duty to provide a reasonably safe place to work. It may apply when a property owner, contractor, or other responsible party had control over the unsafe condition or the work that caused the injury.
Labor Law § 240
This law, often called the Scaffold Law, may apply to gravity-related injuries such as falls from ladders, scaffolds, lifts, or other elevation devices. It may also apply when a worker is struck by a falling object that should have been secured.
Labor Law § 241
This law may apply when a construction, demolition, or excavation injury involves a violation of specific safety rules in the New York Industrial Code.
Our Greenburgh welding accident attorneys will review the work that was performed, who controlled the site, what equipment was provided, and whether safety rules were violated.
Schedule a FREE Consultation With a Greenburgh Welding Accident Attorney Today
Shulman & Hill helps injured workers take action after serious welding accidents. We can handle the workers’ compensation filing, review whether another party may be liable, gather job site evidence, and deal with the insurance carrier on your behalf.
Contact us today for a free consultation with a welding accident attorney in Greenburgh. New York, We Got You.