Working on a building site is hard and risky work. Falls take more lives than any other danger, and many of those falls happen from scaffolds, making a scaffolding accident a tragically common accident on a construction site. For this reason, New York enacted Labor Law 240, often called the Scaffold Law. The law mandates that if those in charge skip key safety steps and a worker is hurt in a gravity-related incident, the worker can seek compensation to make up for the harm. This law keeps bosses accountable and encourages every site to maintain safety standards.
If you or someone you know has been injured in a scaffolding accident or other construction-related incident while on the job, it’s important to seek knowledgeable legal guidance to protect your rights and interests. At K L Sanchez Law Office, P.C., NY Scaffold Accident Lawyer Keetick Sanchez, and our team can assist individuals who have been injured on construction sites in New York. Our understanding of local laws and dedication to our clients positions us well to help you review your situation and explore potential compensation avenues. We are committed to providing guidance through this challenging time, helping you understand your legal options, and supporting you throughout the legal process. Let us assist you in taking the necessary steps towards securing the compensation you deserve.
Don’t let confusion or uncertainty about your legal rights hinder your recovery. Contact us at (646) 701-7990 today for a consultation and begin your journey to recovery and justice.
What Are NY Labor Laws 200, 240, and 241 for Construction Safety?
If you’ve been hurt while working construction in New York, you should know there are strong laws in place to protect you. These laws aren’t just legal talk; they were made to help keep you safe on the job and to hold the right people responsible when things go wrong. The three main laws that matter here are Labor Law 200, 240, and 241. Each one plays a role in keeping worksites safer, especially when the work is risky.
New York Labor Law 200
NY Labor Law 200 is focused on general job site safety. Workers have the right to a job site free of known dangers. The law requires owners and contractors to fix or block any unsafe areas or tools that could cause workers harm. If a hazard remains unmanaged and a worker gets injured, property owners and managers may be held responsible. This law makes sure safety isn’t just a suggestion. It’s a rule.
New York Labor Law 240
Working at heights is no joke. Falls from ladders, scaffolds, or roofs can change your life in an instant. Labor Law 240 requires solid safety gear such as like strong scaffolds, ladders, hoists, and harnesses to be provided to workers. The gear has to be built well, set up correctly and kept in good shape. If any of this equipment fails due to negligence and you are hurt in a fall or struck by a falling object, the owner or contractor is liable, no need to prove fault.
New York Labor Law 241
Labor Law 241 goes into even further detail, especially when it comes to construction, demolition, and digging. It covers the rules about how equipment should be used and how certain jobs should be done. If those rules are broken and you get injured, the site owner or contractor can be held accountable.
Together, these laws give strong cover for you and your coworkers in a construction site. These laws also give you a path to seek fair payment when things go wrong. A seasoned personal injury lawyer can explain the specific protections offered by NY Labor Laws 200, 240, and 241, as well as their implications for construction-related injury cases. For guidance on your case, contact K L Sanchez Law Office, P.C. at (646) 701-7990 today for a consultation.
NY Scaffold Accident Lawyer
Keetick L. Sanchez
Keetick L. Sanchez, Esq. is a proud lifelong New Yorker with a passion for protecting the rights of injured workers. As a seasoned attorney handling scaffold accident cases and other Labor Law violations, Ms. Sanchez brings deep experience and tenacity to every case she undertakes. Her legal career began even before law school, when she worked as a trial litigation paralegal on personal injury cases involving Labor Law 240, 241(6), and 241, motor vehicle accidents, and slip-and-fall claims.
After earning her Juris Doctor from Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law School, Ms. Sanchez built on her strong foundation by prosecuting hundreds of personal injury claims in New York City. She has also worked in both state and federal courts in the areas of criminal and immigration law. Known for her aggressive advocacy and personalized approach, Keetick is admitted to practice in all New York City boroughs as well as in Texas. Her commitment to justice and her deep understanding of the law make her a trusted ally for those harmed in scaffold accidents and other workplace incidents.
Gravity-Related Dangers
The scaffold law makes owners and contractors responsible for ensuring the safety of any workers who must perform jobs where there are gravity-related dangers and the risk of falling. If the owner, contractor, or agent is not in compliance and a worker suffers an injury, that worker has the right to sue those parties for damages.
The New York scaffold law is unique because it imposes strict (or absolute) liability. This means an injured worker generally does not have to prove that an owner or contractor was negligent to be awarded damages. Liability can be established even if the owner or contractor had no direct supervision or control over the work.
While this law significantly limits the defenses available, it does not completely eliminate them. Defendants cannot argue that the worker was partially at fault (comparative negligence). However, they may avoid liability if they can prove that the worker’s actions were the sole proximate cause of the accident, meaning proper safety equipment was provided and the worker chose not to use it, making their actions the only reason for the injury. This is a narrow defense that can be difficult to prove.
Gravity-Related Job Categories
The scaffold law applies to seven job categories. People covered by the scaffold law include construction workers engaging in the following activities:
- Erection
- Demolition
- Repairing
- Altering
- Painting
- Cleaning
- Pointing
While engaged in these jobs, an owner or contractor is required to ensure the safety of these workers by providing certain safety devices such as scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, or other devices. Furthermore, these devices must be constructed, placed, and operated properly to protect the worker. If the owner or contractor did not provide these safety measures or if they were improperly placed or operated and a construction worker was injured while engaged in one of these tasks, the scaffolding law will apply.
However, the statute is not limited to these specific construction workers alone. It can cover a broader range of workers as long as they can demonstrate that they were an integral and necessary part of the activity. If a worker can prove that he or she was working “in furtherance of” a project where the statute applied, the worker may still be covered under the scaffold law.
Workers’ Compensation
An on-the-job injury will entitle workers to collect workers’ compensation benefits. Unfortunately, worker’s compensation is often not sufficient to compensate for the injuries or even fatality of a fall. And workers’ compensation takes away the victim’s right to hold the at-fault party liable, leaving the possibility that others may suffer from their negligence in the future.
The Burden of Proof
Suffering an accident is not enough to hold contractors and owners responsible under the scaffold law. It is up to the injured party to prove that the law was violated and that the violation contributed to the injury. This is when you need the advice and guidance of a legal professional to ensure that your rights are protected.
| New York’s Scaffold Law for Construction Workers | Details |
|---|---|
| Responsibility | Owners and contractors are responsible for ensuring the safety of workers exposed to gravity-related dangers and falling risks. |
| Liability | Owners and contractors bear absolute liability for injuries suffered by workers, regardless of direct supervision or control over the work. |
| Covered Job Categories | Erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning, pointing. |
| Required Safety Devices | Scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, and other necessary devices. |
| Compliance | Safety devices must be properly constructed, placed, and operated to safeguard workers. Failure to provide or correctly use safety measures may result in legal repercussions. |
| Workers’ Compensation | Workers are entitled to collect workers’ compensation benefits for on-the-job injuries, but these benefits may not fully compensate for the damages caused by a fall. |
| Burden of Proof | Injured workers must prove that the scaffold law was violated and that the violation contributed to their injury to hold owners and contractors accountable for damages. |
How Comparative Negligence Works in Scaffold Law Cases
Getting hurt on a construction site is tough. You’re dealing with physical pain, emotional stress, and the uncertainty of what comes next. In New York, the Scaffold Law is designed to protect workers like you. It places responsibility on property owners and contractors when injuries occur due to falls or falling objects on the job, especially when proper safety measures weren’t in place.
New York law utilizes the principle of “pure comparative negligence” in the majority of personal injury claims. That means if you were partially at fault for your accident, your compensation would be reduced by your percentage of fault. So, if you were found 20% responsible, you could still recover 80% of the damages awarded.
But construction accidents involving elevation-related risks, like falls from scaffolds or injuries from falling tools or materials, are treated differently under the Scaffold Law (Labor Law § 240). This law generally does not consider your own fault. Instead, it holds the property owner or contractor strictly liable if they fail to provide proper safety equipment like scaffolds, ladders, or harnesses. The focus is on whether they created a safe working environment, not on whether you made a mistake.
There is one important exception called the “sole proximate cause” defense. If your employer gave you the right safety gear, clearly instructed you on how to use it, and you chose not to follow those instructions, and your refusal is the only reason the accident happened, you may not be able to recover compensation.
You can take steps to protect yourself. Snap photos of where the accident happened and your injuries. Grab the names and phone numbers of anyone who saw it. Keep all your medical records and notes from doctors. Write down everything you remember about the day it happened. These details matter and can strengthen your case.
A New York scaffold accident lawyer can guide you through this. Our team can handle talks with insurance companies and fight for the compensation you deserve. We’re here to take some of that weight off your shoulders, so you can focus on healing.
How is the Scaffolding Law used in a Construction Accident Case?
In civil litigation, the New York Scaffold Laws can be very important because they create strict liability for owners and contractors who fail to follow them.
In most accidents, the injured party (usually the worker in construction) has to prove that the defendant, often the general contractor or owner, failed to act responsibly in order to get compensation. These cases often saw the defendants “pointing the finger” at injured workers and accusing them of failing to act in a safe way. The defendants in these cases would seek to avoid liability by proving that the main cause of the accident was not something they did but rather that the worker was negligent or wrongful.
The statutes of the Scaffolding Law eliminate virtually any defenses owners or contractors might otherwise have. The liability of the owner and contractor is instead based upon answering some basic questions such as:
- Is the project covered under the statutes of the Scaffolding Law?
- Is it possible that the contractor or owner failed to supply the scaffolding and other safety measures as required by statutes?
- Was the injury caused by something that could have been avoided?
These questions will most likely be answered “yes” by the general contractor (owner) who is liable for any accident or injuries. These statutes make it much easier for workers injured and their families, to seek compensation for any injuries, damages, or (potentially wrongful death) that may have occurred.
If you have been injured in a fall on a job site or if you have lost a loved one in a job site accident, you owe it to yourself to get the advice of an experienced construction accident lawyer to assist you in understanding your rights. Contact K L Sanchez Law Office, P.C., at (646) 701-7990 for a free consultation to learn your rights under New York Scaffold Law.
