Why aren’t construction accidents reported?

New York construction accident attorney David Cheverie explains why construction accidents aren’t always reported as they should be.

One of the biggest reasons construction accidents are not reported is that the member may be scared that he’ll lose his job. That can create a major issue down the road because if the injury develops into something significant, meaning he had soft tissue injuries to his back or his neck and a year later he needs surgery, if the accident was never reported, the defendants will fight that and say the accident never happened.

Not only will it cause a burden to his family and to himself, but also to the Union. Accidents should always be reported because workers’ compensation will pay for your wages, a portion, as well as all of your medical treatment. If the accident is not reported, it will then go through the Union’s Health and Welfare Fund, which takes away from your own benefits, and it’s the employer’s responsibility to pay for any injury on the job for workers’ compensation.

In addition, what we specialize in is third-party actions, and many times we have members that come in that did not report the injury because they were scared of losing their job, and years go by, and the injury develops into something significant, and they can no longer provide for their family. We will specialize in fighting for them and representing them, but it is significant and important that an injury is always reported when it happens on the job site so it’s documented.