New York City And Westchester Firefighter Injury Attorneys
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If you are a New York firefighter and were injured in a fire, or while responding to a fire, you may be entitled to compensation of your injuries. Likewise, if your spouse was killed in the line of duty as a firefighter, you may have a lawsuit for wrongful death. Call our New York firefighter injury attorneys for a free consultation today. Our firefighter injury attorneys have offices in Manhattan and Westchester County.
Can A Firefighter Sue For Line Of Duty Injuries
Our New York firefighter injury attorneys know that if you are a New York firefighter and were injured in the course of your duties, or are the immediate family member of a firefighter who died in the line of duty, you may be entitled to more than just the disability payments you get. New York’s General Municipal Law 205 allows you to sue for personal injuries, if you were injured because of another person or company’s violation of the law. New York law is sui generous to firefighters and allows injured firefighters to sue, even for injuries resulting indirectly from a violation of law. This means that even if your injury was somewhat attenuated from the violation. So if you are a New York firefighter who was injured in the course of your duties, call our New York firefighter accident injury lawyers for a free consultation. If your husband or wife was a firefighter that died in the line of duty, call our New York wrongful death attorneys for a free consultation. Our firemen injury attorneys have offices in New York City and Westchester.
On average there are 89 firefighter deaths in the line of duty each year. Last year there were almost twenty three thousand firefighter injuries. The largest percentage of firefighter injuries and firefighter deaths occur at fire scenes. Approximately 58,000 firefighters suffer line of duty injuries every year.
– National Fire Protection Association
New York Firefighter Wrongful Death Attorneys
My Husband Was A Firefighter Who Died On The Job- Can I Sue?
If your husband or wife was a firefighter, who was killed in the line of duty, and their demise was because a building owner or other person or company did not comply with the law, New York law recognizes your right to bring a wrongful death lawsuit for your husband. Our attorneys will help you set up an estate, so you can bring the lawsuit. In a wrongful death lawsuit, you can sue for not only the pain and suffering of your spouse, but also all of the financial loss, which you and your children will experience as a result of the loss of your husband or wife.
Our New York wrongful death workers work closely with economist experts to accurately calculate the financial loss to you, as well as the value of the loss of services to you and your children. Our New York wrongful death attorneys leave no stone unturned in preparing a case to get you the maximum recovery permitted by law.
On Average there are 89 firefighter deaths in the line of duty each year. Last year there were almost twenty three thousand firefighter injuries. The largest percentage of firefighter injuries and firefighter deaths occur at fire scenes. Approximately 58,000 firefighters suffer line of duty injuries every year.
National Fire Protection Association
When Can An Injured Firefighter Bring A Lawsuit
Injured firefighters have rights that most firefighters didn’t even know about.
If you were a New York firefighter and suffered a line of duty injury in a fire, that was caused because a property owner did not maintain their building according to code, call our New York City firefighter injury lawyers or our Westchester fireman injury attorneys. Our firefighter injury lawyers know that firefighters do inherently dangerous work, but when others make that work more dangerous by failing to follow the law, they should be held accountable.A few of the common scenarios where an injured firefighter can file a lawsuit are as follows:
Electrical Fires
New York City, Westchester and most municipalities, have strict electrical codes, which when followed, properly conduct electricity and prevent fires from occurring. If the cause and origin investigation determined that the fire was an electrical fire, that usually means that the landowner violated the electrical code.common examples include unlicensed maintenance people doing subpar work on the electrical panel or outlets, non-fireproof or inadequate materials being used to surround the electrical panel and inadequate maintenance, uncapped electrical wires, and poorly insulated wires.
Poorly Maintained Buildings
Firefighters often have to enter poorly maintained buildings to fight a fire. Many of the conditions which cause injuries to firemen aren’t caused by the fire itself, but because the building was not properly maintained. New York’s Property Maintenance Code and the NYC Building Code, have extensive regulations that landowners are required to comply with. When a firefighter is injured when responding to a fire because the building itself was not kept up to code, our New York City firefighter injury attorneys know that the property owner can be sued for the injuries.
Crashes With Vehicles
If you were injured in an accident, with a bus, truck or car, on the way to an accident, you probably have a lawsuit against the driver of the other vehicle. Fire engines, with lights and sirens have the right of way under New York’s Vehicle and Traffic law and are allowed to pass red lights and cross over double yellow lines. People who are driving cars are required to yield to emergency vehicles, such as fire engines. If a car, truck or bus did not yield and you were injures in a crash, you can sue for your injuries.
Construction Site Fires
Construction sites are inherently dangerous places and prone to fires. The ongoing work on electrical systems, welding activities and the presence of dangerous fumes, including from paint cans and other flammable vapors, places construction sites at inherent risk for fires. New York’s labor laws and the New York Industrial Code, have extensive regulations requiring that demolition and construction activities be conducted in a safe manner, so that fires do not start in the first place. If you were a N.Y.C. firefighter who was injured while responding to a construction fire, call us.
Defective Stairs
If you were a firefighter and fell, while responding to a fire because the stairs were broken, defective or not up to code, then you can sue the property owner for the injuries. New York’s Multiple Dwelling Law, Multiple Residence Law and New York’s building codes all have extensive regulations requiring that stairways be properly designed and maintained. These include requirements that risers be no more than eight inches high, that there be handrails and slip resistant nosings on the stair’s treads. If you fell down poorly maintained stairs while responding to a fire, you have a case.
The City Of New York Issues Over 10,000 Violations Every Year, For Building Conditions That Caused A Fire.
Fires Caused By Open Flames
Open flames are a leading cause of fires. The most common cause is when a flammable vapor or liquid comes into contact with an open flame. New York’s fuel code has numerous requirements that require shut off valves, so that pilot lights and other open flames can be turned off, when work is done around a stove or other heat source that requires use of a flammable vapor or liquid. If you were a firefighter that was injured in a fire that was caused by an open flame, call our New York firefighter injury attorneys today.
Cause And Origin
New York City’s fire marshals and Westchester’s cause and origin teams usually do an excellent job in determining the cause and origin of the fire. Once our NYC firefighter injury attorneys know the cause and origin of a fire, we can look to see what laws were violated.
Inadequately Maintained Fire Places
The purpose of a fireplace is to contain a fire within the fireplace and prevent it from spreading. If the masonry components of a fireplace are not properly maintained, this can allow heat or even flames to escape the fireplace and for a fire to engulf the remainder of the property. If you were injured because of a fire that began as a result of a poorly maintained fireplace, you may have a lawsuit.
Gas Fires
If you responded to a fire that started because of a gas leak, you have a lawsuit, if you suffered personal injuries, while fighting this fire. New York’s fuel gas code has strict requirements on how gas is to be encapsulated and handled. It also has requirements for shut off valves and that open flames be turned off whenever there is a possibility that an flammable substance has to be used in the vicinity of an oven, stove or other heat source.
Self Closing Door And Defective Fire Sprinkler Systems
New York has laws that require fire suppression systems and self closing doors in residential buildings to stop the spread of a fire. If you were injured fighting a fire, which spread out of control because a restaurant or other business did not have a functional fire suppression system, or you were injured in a building that did not have self closing doors, which allowed the fire and smoke to spread, then you may have a lawsuit for your injuries.
Wrongful Death Statistics For Firefighters
No matter how your injury occurred, if someone else was at fault for the fire or was negligent, and that is why you got hurt, call our attorneys for a free consultation. If your loved one suffered a fatality in the course of their duties as a firefighter, call us. We have offices in Midtown Manhattan and in Westchester County.
Firetruck crashes are the second leading cause of firefighter deaths in the United States. Each year, an average of 100 firefighters die and 100,000 firefighters are injured in the line of duty. Ten percent of all firefighter deaths occur due to being caught or trapped.
-United States Fire Administration and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
According to the National Fire Protection Association, in 2017, there were over 15,000 fire engine collisions with motor vehicles nationally and eighteen firefighter died in motor vehicle accidents.
Law Office of Michael H. Joseph, PLLC
The Law Office of Michael H. Joseph, PLLC, has been helping injured victims recover compensation for their injuries for over 25 years. Our attorneys are members of several prestigious organizations, including:
- New York State Trial Lawyers Association
- American Association for Justice
- New York County Bar Association
- Westchester County Bar Association
To request your free initial consultation with our team, call our New York City office at (212) 858-0503 or our White Plains office at (914) 354-3809. You can also request a case review online
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