NY had passed a Workers' Comp law, but it was overturned by our highest state court literally the day before the fire. That means that each and every injured worker, and each and every next-of-kin of deceased workers, had to go through the traditional court system. It overwhelmed the courts so cases took ages and results were all over the map. In some cases, juries were horrified and awarded large amounts of money to the survivors. In others? You had avowed eugenicists on the jury who said things like it was survival of the fittest because the women who died should have been smart enough to learn English and have better education and jobs if they didn't want to die in a horrific fire, and that they *did* die in an industrial fire, that meant they never deserved to live in the first place. I'm paraphrasing bc I don't have my primary sources at hand but not exaggerating because, uh, some of the juror interviews are pretty fucking terrible.
NY amended our state constitution to allow compulsory Workers' Comp, and it was re-implemented a few years later. A few other states implemented it in the meantime. Now, all 50 states except Texas have some form of compulsory Workers' Comp (in Texas it's optional for the employer, *but* if the employer opts out of insurance, there are other resources for workers through traditional courts. Because WC insurance also does protect employers by things like having insurance coverage and more reliable outcomes.)