The Question Every Client Asks First
After a construction accident, once the medical treatment is established and the workers' comp claim is filed, the most common question is: how long will this take?
It is a reasonable question. Families need to understand financial timelines. Workers deciding whether to return to modified duty or wait for full recovery need to plan. And everyone wants to know when the uncertainty ends.
The honest answer is: most construction accident cases in New York take two to four years from the accident date to final resolution — whether that resolution is a settlement or a trial verdict. Some resolve faster. Cases involving clear liability, well-documented injuries, and a single willing defendant can sometimes settle in 18 to 24 months. Cases with multiple defendants, disputed liability, catastrophic injuries, or defendants who are determined to litigate can take four to five years or longer.
What happens during those years matters. Understanding the stages, the typical durations, and what drives delays helps workers and families make informed decisions at each point.
Stage 1: Pre-Litigation Investigation (Months 1-6)
Before any lawsuit is filed, a construction accident lawyer conducts a pre-litigation investigation. This is not optional filler — it is the foundation of the entire case.
Retention and scene investigation (Weeks 1-4): The lawyer is retained, a litigation hold letter is sent to all potentially responsible parties demanding evidence preservation, and the accident scene is investigated — photographs, measurements, identification of surveillance cameras, review of any OSHA or DOB investigation already underway.
Evidence collection (Months 2-4): The OSHA inspection file is obtained through FOIA. DOB records for the project are reviewed. The construction contracts are subpoenaed. Witness statements are taken. Medical records from all treating facilities are collected.
Medical stabilization assessment (Months 3-6): In serious injury cases, the full extent of the injury is not known until the patient has reached maximum medical improvement (MMI) — the point where further significant improvement is not expected. Filing a lawsuit before MMI means the damages picture is incomplete. Many serious injury cases — spinal surgeries, TBIs, fractures requiring multiple procedures — do not reach MMI for six to twelve months.
Stage 2: Filing the Lawsuit (Month 6-12)
The lawsuit is filed when the investigation is complete and the damages picture is sufficiently clear. In most serious construction accident cases, the lawsuit is filed six to twelve months after the accident.
Filing the summons and complaint: The complaint is a formal legal document identifying all defendants, the legal theories (Labor Law 240, 241, 200, negligence), and a description of the accident and injuries. Filing in Supreme Court (New York's trial court of general jurisdiction) is the standard for serious construction accident cases.
Service of process: Each defendant must be formally served with the summons and complaint. This is handled by process servers. The defendants have 20 to 30 days to answer the complaint. They almost always do, through their insurance defense lawyers.
Preliminary conference: An early conference with the judge establishes the discovery schedule — the timeline for the exchange of documents and depositions.
Stage 3: Discovery (Months 12-30)
Discovery is the most time-consuming stage of litigation. It involves the exchange of documents and the taking of depositions — sworn testimony under oath.
Document discovery: Each defendant produces their relevant documents: project contracts, safety inspection logs, worker rosters, insurance certificates, incident reports, training records, equipment maintenance logs. The plaintiff produces relevant documents: prior medical records, tax returns, employment records.
Depositions: Each party gets to examine, under oath, the people who have knowledge relevant to the case. The plaintiff is deposed by defense lawyers — a proceeding that typically takes several hours. The property owner's representative is deposed. The general contractor's site superintendent is deposed. Expert witnesses are deposed after their reports are exchanged.
Construction accident depositions are typically conducted over multiple sessions. A project with five defendants may involve fifteen or more deposition sessions. The scheduling challenges alone can add months to the timeline.
Expert disclosure: After fact depositions, each side discloses their expert witnesses. The plaintiff typically retains: a structural engineering or safety expert to opine on the 240 violation; a medical expert to explain the injuries and causation; an economic expert to calculate lost earnings; a life care planner (for catastrophic cases); and a vocational rehabilitation expert. Defense experts respond to each. Expert reports are exchanged; then experts are deposed.
Stage 4: Summary Judgment and Pre-Trial Motions (Months 24-36)
After discovery closes, defendants typically move for summary judgment — asking the court to dismiss all or part of the case before trial. In Labor Law 240 cases, the most common summary judgment argument is that the accident did not involve a gravity-related hazard within the statute's scope, or that the sole proximate cause or recalcitrant worker defense applies.
Plaintiffs also move for summary judgment on liability, arguing that the undisputed facts establish a 240 violation as a matter of law. When this motion is granted — which happens in many clear-liability scaffold and fall cases — the only issue remaining for trial is damages. A liability summary judgment dramatically improves the settlement posture.
Summary judgment motions are fully briefed (written arguments submitted) and argued before the judge. The time from the motion to the decision may be three to twelve months depending on the court's calendar and the complexity of the motion.
Stage 5: Trial or Settlement (Months 30-48)
Most construction accident cases settle before trial. But "before trial" does not mean immediately — it often means weeks before trial, when the case is on the trial calendar and the defendant's exposure becomes concrete.
Mediation: Most cases go through at least one formal mediation session — a structured settlement conference with a neutral mediator. These sessions often produce settlements, particularly in cases with clear liability and well-documented damages.
Trial: Cases that do not settle proceed to trial. Construction accident trials in New York Supreme Court typically last two to three weeks. The jury hears opening statements, testimony from the plaintiff, treating physicians, expert witnesses on both sides, and closing arguments. The verdict can be appealed.
What actually happens in most cases: the case settles. The timing of settlement correlates with the trial date. A case on a trial calendar for October will often settle in August or September, when the reality of trial expenses and verdict exposure concentrates minds on both sides.
What Causes Delays
Multiple defendants, each represented by separate law firms, add complexity to every procedural step. Scheduling twenty depositions with five law firms and six defendants creates delay that no single party controls.
Complex injuries requiring multiple surgeries extend the medical stabilization period. A worker who has an initial surgery, a revision surgery, and ongoing complications may not reach MMI for 18 months.
Court backlogs in New York Supreme Court are real. Some counties have substantially longer backlogs than others. Kings County (Brooklyn) and Bronx County are known for longer trial calendars than Manhattan or Queens.
Appeals can add years to a case if a critical motion is decided adversely and the decision is appealed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: My accident was six months ago. Is it too soon to file the lawsuit?
No. Six months post-accident is an appropriate time to file in many cases, particularly if the medical picture is reasonably clear and the investigation has been completed. Filing does not commit you to any particular outcome — it preserves your rights and starts the discovery process. Cases where the injury picture is still developing can still be filed with a damages range that may be refined as treatment progresses. The risk of waiting too long (approaching the three-year statute) outweighs any benefit from further delay. Consult with your attorney about whether the case is ready to file.
Q: I need money now to pay my bills. How do I survive financially while the case takes years to resolve?
Several options exist. Workers' compensation should be providing wage replacement and medical benefits — if it is not, your workers' comp attorney needs to press the issue. Litigation funding (sometimes called pre-settlement funding) allows plaintiffs to borrow against the expected value of their case at a cost. This has real financial costs and should be approached carefully. Some attorneys can advance certain case expenses and structure their fee arrangements to address client financial need. Discuss financial needs openly with your attorney — an experienced construction accident lawyer deals with these questions regularly and can help you understand your options.
Q: The insurance company is pressuring me to settle quickly. Should I?
Be cautious about early settlement pressure. Quick settlement offers are typically below case value — sometimes substantially so. The insurance company has access to the same data your lawyer does about jury verdicts in similar cases, and their early offers reflect what they think they can pay to make the case disappear. A case that settles for $250,000 after three months of pressure might have been worth $1.5 million after full litigation. Consult with your attorney about whether an offer reflects the actual value of your case before agreeing to anything.
Q: My doctor says my injury might need additional surgery in two years. Should I wait to settle until then?
This is a judgment call that depends on the specifics of your situation. Settling before you fully understand your future medical needs risks receiving inadequate compensation for those future costs. But waiting for future surgery that may or may not occur means years of additional litigation. Experienced construction accident attorneys handle this through the use of life care planners and medical experts who can project, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, what future treatment is likely. That projection is included in the damages calculation. The case value reflects the probability and cost of future treatment without requiring that treatment to have already occurred.
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