You Were Just Injured
Construction Accident and Treated at Jacobi Medical Center — Your Rights
Jacobi is the Bronx's Level I Trauma Center. If you were brought here after a construction accident, serious injuries are being treated. Your legal rights need the same attention — starting right now.
⚠️ Important: If your accident happened on city property, you have 90 days to file a Notice of Claim. Don't wait.
About Jacobi Medical Center
- Address: 1400 Pelham Parkway South, Bronx, NY 10461
- Trauma Designation: Level I Trauma Center
- System: NYC Health + Hospitals
- Primary Service Area: The Bronx — Morris Park, Pelham Parkway, Throgs Neck, Eastchester, Co-op City
- Relevant Court: Bronx County Supreme Court, 851 Grand Concourse, Bronx 10451
The Bronx Construction Boom — and the Workers Paying the Price
The Bronx is undergoing development it hasn't seen in decades. The South Bronx waterfront — Mott Haven, Hunts Point, Port Morris — has become a major target for residential and commercial construction. The Grand Concourse corridor is seeing new affordable housing towers. Major infrastructure projects are upgrading bridges and highways throughout the borough.
Construction workers in the Bronx are among the city's hardest working — and among the most frequently injured. Many are immigrant workers, working for small subcontractors, on jobs that cut corners on safety. When they get hurt, they often don't know they have rights far beyond workers' comp.
Jacobi is where many of them end up after serious accidents. If you're here, or your family member is here, this is what you need to know.
What to Do Right Now
Don't talk to the contractor's insurance company
The liability adjuster will call. They may speak Spanish, they may sound helpful, they may say they just need basic information. Do not give it. Every word goes into a record that will be used to minimize your recovery. Tell them: "My attorney will be in contact." Then call us.
Photograph injuries while still at Jacobi
Visible injuries are evidence. The bruising, the lacerations, the external hardware, the swelling — these tell the story of the force involved. Have someone photograph your injuries with your hospital room visible. Store the photos somewhere safe. These pictures can be the most compelling evidence in your case.
Write down the accident details
What floor were you on? What were you doing? Was there a safety harness? Was there edge protection? Who was the supervisor? Were there other workers nearby who saw what happened? The clearer you can be now, the stronger your case later.
Reach out to witnesses before the job foreman does
Foremen sometimes pressure witnesses to stay quiet or sign statements downplaying what happened. If coworkers saw the accident, contact them or have a family member contact them before that happens. Their accounts of site conditions — the scaffold, the ladder, the lack of safety equipment — are invaluable.
Bronx Construction Sites and the 90-Day Rule
A significant portion of Bronx construction involves city-owned or city-funded property. NYCHA runs dozens of housing developments across the Bronx — Mott Haven Houses, Patterson Houses, Edenwald Houses, Co-op City is its own entity but city-adjacent. The Bronx has significant MTA infrastructure work, DOT roadway projects, and DEP utility construction.
If your accident happened on any of these properties, or on a project controlled or funded by a city agency, the 90-day Notice of Claim rule applies. You have 90 days from the accident date — not from the date you leave the hospital, not from when you hire an attorney — to file a formal notice with the city.
We can file that notice while you're still admitted. Call us today and tell us where the accident happened. We'll research the ownership immediately.
Your Labor Law Rights in the Bronx
New York Labor Law § 240 — the Scaffold Law — applies to every construction project in the Bronx the same as it does in Manhattan. Property owners and general contractors are strictly liable for gravity-related injuries. If you fell from a scaffold, a ladder, a roof, or an elevated platform — or if something fell and hit you from above — the law is on your side.
Labor Law § 241(6) covers specific Industrial Code violations. If the contractor violated 12 NYCRR 23-1.7(b)(1) by failing to cover or guard a floor opening, or 23-1.22(b) by building a scaffold that didn't meet specifications, or dozens of other specific provisions — that violation can establish liability even when 240 doesn't apply.
Cases from Bronx accidents are filed in Bronx County Supreme Court at 851 Grand Concourse. Bronx juries have historically returned some of the most significant construction injury verdicts in the state.
Workers' Comp Is Not Enough
Workers' compensation will pay your Jacobi medical bills and about two-thirds of your pre-injury wage. That's it. No pain and suffering. No lost future earning capacity beyond the comp schedule. No payment for the full extent of your permanent disability.
A Labor Law civil case is entirely different and entirely separate. You can pursue both. The workers' comp carrier will have a lien on the civil case settlement, but we negotiate that down as part of the settlement. Workers who only pursue comp routinely leave hundreds of thousands of dollars — sometimes millions — on the table.
Questions Workers Ask Us From the Hospital
I was hurt on a South Bronx construction site. Does it matter if the developer is from outside New York?
No. New York Labor Law applies to any construction project in New York State, regardless of where the developer, general contractor, or property owner is based. Out-of-state companies are just as subject to Labor Law 240 as local ones.
My foreman told the super it was my fault. What happens now?
Under Labor Law 240 (strict liability for gravity injuries), your own negligence is not a complete defense. Even if you made a mistake, the owner and contractor can still be held liable if they failed to provide proper safety equipment. Under 241(6) and 200 claims, comparative fault can reduce damages but rarely eliminates them.
The contractor offered me a settlement check right away. Should I take it?
Do not accept any early settlement without speaking to an attorney. Early offers from contractors or their insurers are almost always far below what the case is worth. Once you sign a release, the case is over. We review early offers for free — there's no obligation to hire us after the review.
I don't speak English well. Can you still help me?
Yes. We work with Spanish-speaking and other immigrant workers regularly. We have Spanish-language capability and work with interpreters for other languages. Your case is just as strong regardless of language. Call us.
How long does a Bronx construction injury case typically take?
From filing to resolution, most cases in Bronx County Supreme Court take 2 to 4 years. Cases with clear Labor Law 240 violations often settle within 2 to 3 years. Cases that go to trial take longer but may produce significantly higher recoveries. We'll give you a realistic timeline after reviewing your case.
Talk to an Attorney Now
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