Table of Contents: New Mexico Construction Accidents
Your Rights After a Construction Site Accident in New Mexico
If you have been injured in a construction accident, you need to know that you have rights. Understanding these can make all the difference as you work to rebuild your life.
After a construction accident in New Mexico, you have the right to:
- Seek medical attention from whichever doctor you prefer.
- Report your work injury to your employer and to pursue workers’ compensation or other benefits.
- Pursue benefits and/or compensation for your medical care, lost earnings, and possibly more.
- Wait until you are healed and have your doctor’s approval to return to work.
- Seek retribution if your employer fires or demotes you for reporting a construction site injury.
These rights exist, but they must be actively asserted and protected. Our New Mexico construction accident attorneys have the wherewithal and experience to protect your rights through every step of your case.
Types of New Mexico Construction Site Accidents
Construction sites can be dangerous for various reasons, but accidents are not inevitable. They are largely preventable, and by implementing safety standards and properly training workers, most can be prevented.
Our lawyers help construction workers across New Mexico with cases involving:
- Ladder Falls: Recognized as a top construction hazard, falls can cause catastrophic injuries that leave construction workers out of work or unable to return to construction at all. Ladder falls at New Mexico construction sites can be caused by using the wrong type of ladder, placing it on an unstable surface, or exceeding weight limits.
- Scaffolding Accidents: Scaffolding collapses, falls from heights, and falling objects from scaffolds cause thousands of injuries each year. When scaffolding is improperly erected, lacks guardrails, or is overloaded, it creates a high-risk environment that can lead to traumatic injuries or death.
- Power Tool Injuries: New Mexico construction sites rely on high-powered tools, but when these tools malfunction, lack safety guards, or are misused due to poor training, workers may suffer lacerations, electrical burns, and even amputations. Faulty equipment or negligent oversight can make employers and manufacturers liable.
- Construction Equipment Injuries: Heavy machinery like bulldozers, backhoes, and loaders pose serious dangers when poorly maintained or operated by unqualified personnel. Workers may be run over, crushed, or pinned by equipment that should never have been active in a shared work zone.
- Construction Vehicle Accidents: Dump trucks, forklifts, and other site vehicles must be driven with care. When operators are distracted, fatigued, or undertrained, crashes happen. These accidents often result in back injuries, head trauma, or multiple orthopedic injuries for those on foot or in other vehicles.
- Crane Accidents: Crane collapses and dropped loads often cause some of the most catastrophic construction accidents. These events can stem from poor weather planning, overloaded lifts, or mechanical failure—and usually point back to negligence by supervisors or third-party contractors.
- Excavation Accidents: Excavation work often exposes workers to cave-ins, falling equipment, and underground utility strikes. When employers fail to assess soil stability or use protective systems, laborers may be trapped or crushed in seconds, leading to devastating injuries or fatalities.
- Trench Collapses: OSHA standards require trench safety systems when digging deeper than 5 feet. When those protections are skipped entirely or improperly installed, trench walls can collapse, burying workers under thousands of pounds of soil. Even with prompt response, recovering workers in time can be impossible.
- Electrocution/Electrical Injuries: Construction sites are full of temporary wiring, power tools, and overhead lines. When circuits are not properly grounded or contact with live wires occurs, the result can be severe electrical burns, cardiac arrest, or even death—especially in wet conditions.
- Chemical/Toxic Exposure: From concrete dust to industrial solvents, construction workers in New Mexico may be exposed to hazardous substances daily. Without proper PPE and ventilation, long-term exposure can lead to respiratory illness, skin damage, or even neurological harm.
- Amputation Accidents: Unguarded machinery, crush injuries from falling or swinging objects, and power tool failures can result in life-altering amputations. These catastrophic injuries are among the most traumatic a worker can experience and often involve product liability or gross negligence claims.
- Struck by Objects: Being struck by falling tools, materials, or equipment is one of OSHA’s “Fatal Four” construction hazards. These incidents frequently occur on multi-level sites where overhead work is underway and no barriers or toeboards are in place to protect those working below.
Regardless of the type of accident and the injuries you experienced, you have the right to seek treatment and fair compensation. Our Albuquerque construction site accident attorneys are standing by to explain your options and rights so you can make informed decisions from this point on. We're here to help.
Construction Fatalities & Industry Risks in New Mexico
New Mexico’s construction industry is one of the most dangerous employment sectors in the state. Construction accounted for approximately 20% of worker fatalities in New Mexico in 2022. From multi-story building projects in Albuquerque to oilfield construction in the southeast, the risks are real—and too often, entirely preventable.
The most common causes of fatal construction accidents in New Mexico are known as OSHA’s “Fatal Four”: falls, struck-by incidents, electrocutions, and caught-in/between accidents. These account for the majority of construction deaths nationwide and remain the leading causes in New Mexico. Tragically, many of these incidents involve workers who were given no fall protection, faulty equipment, or were placed under dangerous conditions to meet a rushed deadline.
Under the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Act (NMSA 1978, §§ 50-9-1 to 50-9-25), employers are required to provide workplaces free from recognized hazards that are likely to cause death or serious physical harm. This includes following all state and federal OSHA regulations on scaffolding, trench safety, ladder usage, fall protection systems, and hazard communication. Enforcement is handled by the New Mexico Occupational Health and Safety Bureau (OHSB), which conducts inspections, issues citations, and can fine or shut down operations that violate safety standards.
In addition to OSHA violations, many construction accidents in New Mexico stem from employer negligence, poor subcontractor coordination, or defective equipment, especially on large commercial projects and oilfield-related developments in regions like Carlsbad, Hobbs, and the Permian Basin.
Construction fatalities happen for specific reasons. We're committed to uncovering negligence and wrongdoing to help families find answers. Our New Mexico construction accident attorneys investigate every angle, expose the root causes, and fight to hold every responsible party accountable.
Third-Party & Defective Equipment Construction Accident Lawsuits
When a construction accident is caused by a third party—someone other than your employer—you may be entitled to file a personal injury lawsuit in addition to any workers’ compensation benefits. These third-party claims often provide far more compensation than workers’ comp alone, especially in cases involving severe or permanent injuries.
Common third-party defendants in New Mexico construction accidents include:
- Equipment manufacturers whose defective tools, cranes, or safety harnesses fail.
- Property owners or general contractors who fail to address known hazards.
- Subcontractors who act negligently or violate site safety rules.
- Vendors or delivery companies whose unsafe conduct causes a crash or collapse.
For example, if a nail gun misfires due to a design flaw or a scaffolding manufacturer fails to meet industry safety standards, those companies can be held accountable for the harm their products caused. At Arnold & Itkin, we work with engineering and construction safety experts to pinpoint failure points and pursue justice from every liable party.
These lawsuits are critical in helping injured workers recover full compensation for pain and suffering, future lost income, disability-related home modifications, and more. As New Mexico personal injury attorneys who prepare every case for trial, we're known by manufacturers, contractors, and insurance giants as the team they don't want to face off against. We secure life-changing results because we refuse to settle for less than what our clients deserve.
Recovering Compensation After a Construction Accident
Because construction site accidents can cause catastrophic injuries, it is important to recover fair compensation. The damages in a construction accident lawsuit are meant to help an injured worker or the family of a worker who has lost their life rebuild. Because the at-fault party cannot go back in time to prevent the accident from happening in the first place, they are held responsible for replacing the injured party's losses.
A successful construction site injury case in New Mexico may include damages for:
- Economic damages, including financial losses like medical expenses, the cost of ongoing care or treatment, property damage, lost earnings, loss of future/potential wages, and more.
- Non-economic damages, including emotional trauma, pain and suffering, disfigurement, scarring, loss of enjoyment of life, and similar consequences of the worker's injuries.
It’s important to take the right course of legal action after a construction accident. This will be your opportunity to recover compensation that can help you put your life back together.
$860 Million Crane Collapse Verdict
A few years ago, a grieving mother called our New Mexico construction accident lawyers after a construction accident. Her daughter died in her apartment when a crane across the street inexplicably collapsed on the building. Our investigation found that the crane had been improperly maintained, causing it to fall over due to wind speeds well within its structural limits. We went after the project supervisors and executives, whose negligence robbed our client of her daughter. In an explosive cross-examination, we made both defendants admit their wrongdoing for the public record.
The jury awarded our client $860 million.
Statute of Repose & Limitation Periods in New Mexico
If you were hurt in a construction accident in New Mexico, you have a limited window of time to file a lawsuit. That’s why it’s critical to speak with an experienced New Mexico construction injury attorney as soon as possible.
New Mexico’s statute of limitations for personal injury claims is generally three years from the date of the accident. This includes third-party claims for construction injuries. However, if your case involves a wrongful death, the time limit is typically three years from the date of death—not the date of injury.
In addition, New Mexico applies a statute of repose in certain construction defect cases, such as injuries caused by a building collapse or unsafe structure. Under N.M. Stat. § 37-1-27, claims related to the construction or improvement of real property must be brought within 10 years of project completion—regardless of when the injury occurred.
If your claim involves a government entity, such as a state construction project or municipal contract, you may have only 90 days to file a Notice of Claim under the New Mexico Tort Claims Act (NMTCA).
Because these deadlines can be complex and unforgiving, we strongly recommend contacting a law firm with experience in both personal injury and construction liability law in New Mexico. At Arnold & Itkin, we move quickly to preserve our clients' rights and take on companies trying to gain an upper hand by running out the clock.
Talk to Our New Mexico Construction Injury Lawyers
Arnold & Itkin has an impeccable record when it comes to representing the injured and wronged. We consistently set and break records for verdicts and settlements across the country, and our complete track record includes over $20 billion won for our clients. Our opponents fear us because they know we won’t back down until we reach the best possible result for the person or family we’re representing.
Our notable construction accident case results include:
- $860 million verdict for the mother of a young woman who died when a crane collapsed on her apartment.
- $44 million settlement for a construction superintendent who lost his leg after a crane collapsed.
- $4.97 million settlement for a worker seriously injured during maintenance and construction at a chemical plant.
- $2.78 million settlement for a contractor injured while performing construction work at a plant in Louisiana.
- $2 million settlement for a worker injured while performing construction on a jack-up rig in Singapore.
Our recent construction accident case filings include:
Because we’re experienced with personal injury, workers’ compensation, and product liability lawsuits related to construction site accidents, we are confident in our ability to take the right approach to your claim.
Call (888) 493-1629 today. Our Albuquerque construction injury attorneys are standing by to help!
