Tarmac Injury Claims in New York: Your Legal Rights

JFK and LaGuardia are owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, a bi-state public entity. New York law requires that any personal injury claim against a public authority be preceded by a Notice of Claim filed within 90 days of the incident. Missing this deadline typically bars you from bringing a lawsuit against the Port Authority regardless of how serious your injuries are.

In most cases, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy against your direct employer under New York Workers’ Compensation Law, meaning you cannot sue your employer in civil court. However, you may be able to bring a third-party lawsuit against the airport authority, a contractor, equipment manufacturer, or another party whose negligence contributed to your injury — and those claims can result in significantly larger recoveries than workers’ comp alone.

Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) is also owned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, so the same 90-day Notice of Claim requirement applies. Even though Newark is located in New Jersey, the Port Authority is a bi-state agency subject to its own statutory notice rules, and an attorney familiar with Port Authority claims should be consulted immediately after any tarmac injury there.

Common tarmac injuries that give rise to third-party claims include those caused by ground service equipment failures, fuel truck accidents, jet blast incidents, slip-and-fall hazards from poorly maintained apron surfaces, and being struck by baggage carts or tugs. Under New York Labor Law, certain workers on airport tarmac projects may also have enhanced protections under Sections 200, 240, and 241, which impose non-delegable duties on property owners and general contractors.

When the tug, pushback tractor, or belt loader that hit you was operated by a company other than your direct employer — a common setup on the ramp, where several ground-handling firms share one apron — you can usually bring a third-party negligence claim against that operator's employer. Unlike workers' compensation, that claim can recover pain and suffering and your full lost earnings. Preserve the equipment number, the operating company's name, and any ramp-camera or GSE telematics footage right away, because those records are often overwritten within days.

Possibly. Airlines and ground handlers are expected to enforce jet-blast standoff distances, hold-short zones, and engine-start warnings before an aircraft powers up on the ramp. If a crew spooled engines while workers were still in the blast zone, or no one signaled the danger area, that failure can support a third-party claim against the airline or handling company. Jet-blast injuries — workers thrown across the apron, secondary falls, flying debris — are typically severe enough to put the case well beyond what workers' compensation alone will pay.

These apron-surface hazards — spilled Jet-A fuel, glycol de-icing runoff, and foreign object debris left on the ramp — are classic third-party claims when a contractor other than your employer created the hazard or failed to clean it up. Burns from a fuel spill, chemical exposure, or a fall on a slick apron can each point to a party you can sue directly. Because the apron is shared by fuelers, de-icing crews, and cargo handlers who all work for different companies, pinning down which one controlled that stretch of tarmac is central to the claim.