Labor Law 240 New York

As you navigate the streets of New York City, you may find many construction sites and buildings with scaffolding and so forth. Worksites represent growth in the city and provide jobs to thousands of people. However, if these construction sites don’t follow safety laws and guidelines carefully, workers or others may be severely injured or even killed.

There are many laws in New York that govern the safety of construction workers. For example, New York Labor Law 200 requires owners and contractors to keep all construction sites under their control reasonably safe for workers and visitors. Meanwhile, Labor Law 240 was written specifically to prevent accidents with ladders and scaffolding. When owners and contractors ignore these laws in favor of profit, it’s their employees who often pay the price.

According to OSHA, approximately 65 percent of construction workers work on scaffolding at some point during the day, and there are some 4,500 injuries and 60 fatalities due to scaffold falls each year. If you or someone you love has been injured or a victim of wrongful death in a scaffolding accident, contact our law office today and learn what the lawyers at Hill & Moin can do for you. Our New York personal injury lawyers have vast knowledge and experience in New York labor law, and we are proud to fight for the rights of construction workers in New York.

Don’t wonder about your rights! Contact our law firm today at (212) 668-6000 to schedule a free initial case consultation. The attorneys at our law firm care about their clients. In fact, clients have said when Hill & Moin is on your side, “it’s like having a lawyer in the family.”

What is NY Labor Law 240 and How Does It Protect Workers?

Labor Law Section 240 is often referred to as the “scaffold law.” It was created to protect elevated workers, on ladders, scaffolding, and other supports, from falls and/or injuries from falling objects. The law mandates that contractors and owners must provide safety equipment to protect workers from falls. This law is unique to New York – many states don’t have a specific law protecting workers in the same way.

This law only protects employees who are working on a “structure,” which can legally include, not only buildings, but boats, bridges, subway tunnels, water towers, and garages.

So what does Labor Law Section 240 not cover? For example, if a worker was trimming a tree in front of a building and fell, he or she may not be covered by this law because the employee was not working on the structure of the building itself. However, other workers’ compensation laws may come into play in this scenario.

Labor Law 240 requires New York construction companies and contractors to supply scaffolding and safety equipment for workers who are above the ground. The law states that scaffolding that is over 20 feet off of the ground, in most cases, must have a bolted safety rail that spans the length and ends of the scaffold and must be secured in a way that prevents the scaffold from swaying. The scaffolding must also be able to support the weight 4 times the maximum weight of people and materials that are placed on it.

What Types of Claims are Often Cited Under Labor Law 240 and Why Are They Often Disputed?

The lawyers at Hill & Moin have won large settlements for many construction workers in New York who were injured in falls from scaffolding and other construction site accidents. Lawsuits filed under Labor Law 240 typically involve injuries of:

A worker who fell from an elevated worksite such as a scaffold or ladder – due to the device malfunctioning or not being properly furnished with safety features
A worker being injured by tools or debris that fell from an elevated work site

Unfortunately, New York Labor Law 240 does not provide an automatic payout to all workers who are injured by falling from an elevated worksite or being hit by a falling article. It may, however, provide personal injury lawyers with a way to win financial settlements for clients who were injured on a construction site.

The duty that New York Labor Law 240 places on construction site owners and contractors is “absolute.” In other words, this law makes construction companies and contracting entities liable for accidents involving falls from ladders, slings, scaffolding, and other equipment.

It does not matter if the worker contributed to the fall in some way – the contracting company is still completely liable. There may be all the required safety features on the scaffolding, but if the contracting company fails to properly train their workers or to require them to use protective gear at all times on the site, it may still be held liable.

How Do Employers Try to Get Around It?

The fact that New York is one of few states with a law to protect people in this way shows how committed our state is to protecting its workers. Cases involving New York Labor Law 240 typically result in high-settlement payouts towards the plaintiffs. However, employers and contractors may do everything that they can to avoid being held liable. For this reason, it’s important to have an experienced workers’ compensation attorney on your side who is experienced in handling labor law cases.

Contractors and property owners may try to defend claims against them by showing a positive safety record from the past. Some contractors might present a contract that shifts blame to a subcontractor. In other cases, if a worker displayed extreme negligence by throwing a tool from the scaffold at another person, or by physically grabbing another party and pushing him or her to the ground, a contractor may try to shift liability to that worker.

While New York law is on the side of injured workers, it is still essential to have an experienced attorney on your side to ensure your legal rights are protected. The construction company you are employed with may have their own legal team defending them, and you don’t want them to take away your right for justice. With an experienced lawyer on your side, you can have the confidence you need to pursue your legal remedies for financial compensation.

How Does Labor Law Section 240 Protect Homeowners From Liability?

Labor Law Section 240 carves out an exemption for homeowners of one- and two-family dwellings. An owner is exempt from liability under the “scaffold law” if he or she can prove two things:

That his other dwelling is a one- or two-family home
That he or she neither directed nor controlled the work performed by the laborer

The homeowner may only be exempt if the laborers were doing work directly on the dwelling. If a homeowner ran a business out of part of the home, for instance, he or she may not qualify for the exemption.

On the other hand, an injured worker may also file a claim against a homeowner under Labor Law 200 and common law negligence. This law applies when the injury sustained was the result of an actual dangerous condition and the homeowner supervised the worker but knew about the danger that caused the injury.

In order to not be held liable for a claim filed against them under Section 200 and Common Law Negligence, homeowners may need to provide clear proof that:

They did not supervise or control the work
They were not aware of the dangerous condition that caused the worker’s injury

Find Out How an Experienced Construction Site Attorney Can Help You

If you or someone you love has been injured from a fall on a construction site, you may be entitled to more than workers’ compensation benefits. Contact our law firm to see how we can put our knowledge and experience at work for you. You may have the right to sue for proper compensation!

Remember, even as an undocumented worker, you have rights under New York state law. The lawyers at Hill & Moin LLP offer free case consultations – call us at (212) 668-6000 to schedule yours today.

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