Manhattan construction projects generate millions of dollars for companies in the area as residents clamor for new homes and modern apartment buildings. While these projects offer employment for the area’s construction workers, the job is not without its dangers.
According to a report by NYC Buildings, construction site accidents increased 9.7% between 2021-2022. Explosion accidents in particular cause serious accidents and death, and if you or a loved one suffered injuries in such an accident, our attorneys at Cellino Law stand ready to assist and answer your questions about filing an explosion accident lawsuit.
How Does Negligence Lead To Explosions At Work Sites?
Safety violation issues often cause explosion accidents at Manhattan construction sites and leave workers with catastrophic injuries Employees work with a variety of flammable substances, including fuel that operates vehicles and gas-powered tools. When site managers or foremen fail to follow safety guidelines, explosions happen in a variety of ways, including:
- Storing flammable liquids improperly
- Gas leaks
- A lack of ventilation in enclosed areas
The injuries employees receive are usually serious because in most cases, these explosions happen without warning.
What Are Some Common Explosion Injuries?
The resulting injuries are usually serious when explosions happen at Manhattan work sites. The blast may cause fires or topple building materials from above.
Burns
Explosions triggered by flammable material can cause life-changing burns. Severe burns or those that affect a large percentage of the body are often difficult to treat because infection sets in quickly, leading to organ failure and septic shock.
Loss of Limbs
The force of a worksite explosion can tear fingers, arms and legs from a body. This forceful amputation can cause severe bleeding and loss of life.
Blunt Force Trauma
Employees in the direct path of an explosion may get tossed away and strike the side of a building, a vehicle or a steel beam. The force of the impact can cause blunt-force trauma injuries that affect the brain or spinal cord.
Hearing or Vision Loss
When a Manhattan construction site blast occurs, the heat and sound of the explosion can cause blindness and ruptured eardrums. Middle-ear bone fractures may also occur and affect hearing.
If you or a loved one experienced any of these injuries due to negligence, our attorneys can guide you through filing a personal injury lawsuit and what types of damages and loss you might request.
What Damages Can I Claim After an Explosion Injury?
The extent of injury you or a loved one suffered in a Manhattan blast injury affects the overall value of your case. Our attorneys review medical records and costs to ensure you and your family are fully compensated after an explosion.
Bodily Disfigurement
The heat and force of an explosion can cause bodily disfigurement and permanent scarring. This type of injury often affects an individual’s quality of life and mental health.
Loss of Wages/Future Income
Explosion injuries often lead to physical disabilities that prevent you from returning to your job or finding future employment that matches what you earned before the accident. Loss of wages can also affect your family’s well-being and comfort as you struggle with your finances after the explosion.
Present and Future Medical Expenses
When an explosion happens on a Manhattan job site, treating the resulting injuries can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Costly scans, medications, emergency room and triage treatment and spending weeks in a hospital can send family finances into a tailspin. Bringing your case to our attorneys can help you cover these expenses in an explosion lawsuit.
Loss of Companionship
If your spouse perished in a worksite explosion, the resulting loss can feel devastating. Your children must adjust to the loss and feelings of overwhelming grief at the sudden loss of a parent. You can hold the negligent party legally responsible for the death in court as part of your case.
Final Medical Expenses and Funeral Costs
If your loved one succumbed to injuries caused by a worksite explosion despite receiving medical treatment, the resulting cost could skyrocket during the hours preceding death. These expenses, combined with the cost of a funeral and internment, are often astronomical. Our attorneys work to hold negligent parties responsible for these costs so you can focus on what matters most during this difficult time.
What Is Mental Stress and Emotional Anguish?
After a worksite explosion, you or your loved one might experience a change in mental health. You might experience or notice new mood swings or an inexplicable feeling of dread each morning when you awaken. Not only are explosion incidents damaging physically but they can also cause a variety of distressing symptoms, including:
- Nightmares about the accident
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Panic attacks
- Severe anxiety
Emotional anguish may include symptoms like survivor’s guilt, grief and vivid memories associated with the explosion. Witnessing a friend or co-worker’s death at the time of the accident can also cause intense emotions. If you require therapy or medication to handle your mental stress, our lawyers can add the cost of treatment as they build your lawsuit.
How Do Your Attorneys Prove Negligence?
When you file a Manhattan worksite explosion lawsuit, your burden of proof lies with you, as the plaintiff. Our Cellino Law attorneys work to prove negligence on behalf of the defendant in several ways.
Breaching Duty of Care
The injured individual in your explosion case was owed a duty of care by the defendant. Manhattan construction employees and those in similar work environments deserve a reasonably safe workspace. If the owner of the company or property owner caused an explosion via a negligent act, this breaches the owed duty of care.
The Duty of Care Breach Caused Your Injuries
Our attorneys work to prove that the defendant’s negligent act caused the explosion and the injuries you experienced. For example, if your work foreman knew a drill was malfunctioning but allowed you to use it and that malfunction caused an electrical arc that triggered the explosion, that negligent act was the direct cause of your injuries.
You Have Proven Injuries
Not all injuries that occur in a Manhattan worksite explosion are visible. Physical trauma such as deafness, lung injuries from inhaling caustic chemicals and traumatic brain injuries may all occur as a result of a blast. Providing our attorneys with medical records that prove these injuries can help build a solid case.
Can I Sue for Punitive Damages?
A court awards punitive damages when the defendant’s actions were proven especially reckless, careless or negligent. Punitive damages punish the defendant for the behavior that caused the accident; for example, if your company used cheap containers to house worksite chemicals and a leak caused an explosion, this could be considered negligent.
When work schedules become tight, foremen and managers might encourage their workers to cut a few safety corners to save time. These safety missteps can cause serious injuries to those down the line, and doing so purposely could allow you to file for punitive damages as a part of your lawsuit.
Bring Us Your Worksite Explosion Case
When a Manhattan worksite explosion occurs due to negligence, the resulting medical bills and new life challenges caused by your injuries can seem overwhelming. At Cellino Law, we use our knowledge and experience to help win you the compensation you and your family deserve. Contact us online for further information and gain peace of mind today.