NYC Construction Equipment Injuries Top 2025 in Eight Months; State Law Holds Owners Accountable for Unsafe Machines
Gorayeb & Associates, P.C.
Mechanical construction equipment was involved in 24 injuries on New York City building sites through August 31, 2026, up from 16 during the same months of 2025 and already above the 19 recorded for all of last year, the New York City Department of Buildings reports. Total construction injuries citywide reached 232, compared with 225 a year earlier. Gorayeb & Associates, P.C., the New York construction accident firm known as The People's Lawyers, is issuing this advisory because workers hurt by a machine often assume only the operator or their employer can be held responsible.
State rules for powered machines on construction, demolition, and excavation sites sit in a dedicated subpart of Industrial Code Rule 23. Each machine must be kept in good repair and inspected often enough to stay that way, and any defect or unsafe condition must be corrected once discovered. Only trained, designated persons may run it. Operators of material handling machines must stay at the controls while a load is being handled.
Forklifts carry their own list. Each must display its rated capacity and may never be loaded beyond it, must have an overhead canopy protecting the operator from falling material, and must carry a horn or similar warning device audible above the noise of the site. Nobody may stand or ride on the forks of a moving truck.
Section 241(6) of the Labor Law turns those rules into liability. Owners and contractors answer when a specific Industrial Code provision is violated and the violation causes injury, and courts treat that obligation as nondelegable. In Misicki v Caradonna, the Court of Appeals held in 2009 that the requirement to correct a discovered defect in power operated equipment is specific enough to support the claim. Responsibility stays with the owner and general contractor even when a subcontractor owns or runs the machine.
"A forklift with a dead horn or worn brakes doesn't get that way overnight," said Christopher J. Gorayeb, founding partner of Gorayeb & Associates. "Somebody on that site walked past it for weeks and kept the job moving. That decision is what we put in front of a jury."
Equipment cases turn on records that tend to vanish: maintenance logs, inspection sheets, rental agreements, operator credentials, and complaints made before the accident. Workers' compensation remains the exclusive remedy against the direct employer, yet a separate claim against the property owner or general contractor can recover what compensation never pays, including pain and suffering.
"Write down the unit number on the machine before you leave in the ambulance, or have a coworker do it," Gorayeb said. "Get the operator's name. Ask whether it was rented and from whom. Then call a lawyer before that equipment leaves the site, because once it's gone, so is the proof."
About Gorayeb & Associates, P.C.
Founded in 1986 by Christopher J. Gorayeb, Gorayeb & Associates, P.C. is a New York personal injury law firm concentrating in construction accident and occupational injury litigation. The firm has recovered more than $2 billion for more than 12,000 injured workers and their families. Known to the communities it serves as The People's Lawyers, the firm provides bilingual representation in English and Spanish throughout New York City and New York State. More information is available at https://www.gorayeb.com/en/.
Sources
New York City Department of Buildings, Construction Related Injuries and Fatalities, as of August 31, 2026
https://www.nyc.gov/assets/buildings/pdf/cons_accident_summary_0826.pdf
New York Industrial Code, 12 NYCRR 23-9.2, Power Operated Equipment, General Requirements
https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-york/12-NYCRR-23-9.2
New York Industrial Code, 12 NYCRR 23-9.8, Lift and Fork Trucks
https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-york/12-NYCRR-23-9.8
Misicki v Caradonna, 12 NY3d 511 (2009), New York Court of Appeals
https://nycourts.gov/Reporter/3dseries/2009/2009_03764.htm
New York Labor Law Section 241
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/LAB/241
New York Workers' Compensation Law Section 11
https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/WKC/11
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