The city’s School Construction Authority is expecting to spend $270 million on construction-site injuries and related liability expenses in a single year — nearly 10 times more than a decade ago.
The surge in payouts led the agency to set aside more than 10 percent of its funds to settle 2009 workers’-compensation and liability claims.
The projected expenses of $260 million for that year, the latest for which data are available, dwarf the $28 million the SCA spent in 2000.
Department of Education spokeswoman Margie Feinberg blamed the surge on the increased cost of medical care and larger settlements that she said similarly affected the bottom line across all construction work in town.
Industry insiders say courts have recently given an even broader application to a labor law that puts the onus for accidents on construction companies and work-site owners.
“This law is like the slot machine [at] the casino that’s broken. No matter what comes up when you pull that lever, you win,” said Michael Elmendorf, who heads the General Contractors Association.
He said trial lawyers salivate over construction cases because it’s an unfair fight that pays off big.
But labor lawyers countered that the increase in payments was attributable to one simple cause: contractors’ stinting on safety.
Additional reporting by Christina Carrega, Doug Montero, Dareh Gregorian and Josh Saul