Real Estate. Immigration. Personal Injury — New York & New Jersey
Real Estate. Immigration. Personal Injury — New York & New Jersey
If you work construction in New York and you've been hurt — especially from a fall or a falling object — you may have the strongest worker protection in the United States backing you up. The NY Scaffold Law (Labor Law §240) imposes absolute liability on property owners and general contractors for elevation-related construction injuries. This guide explains what the law covers, who's protected, how it interacts with workers' comp, and what you need to do if you've been hurt.
NY Labor Law §240 — often called the Scaffold Law — makes property owners and general contractors legally responsible for construction worker injuries caused by elevation hazards. If you fall from a ladder, scaffold, roof, or opening, OR you're hit by a falling object, the owner and contractor can be held 100% liable — even if you were partly at fault. The Scaffold Law gives you a separate civil lawsuit on top of your workers' compensation claim.
The Scaffold Law dates to 1885, when NYC's construction boom was killing workers at an unacceptable rate. Falls from scaffolds, ladders, and buildings were common and devastating. The legislature decided that the party in control of the worksite — the owner and general contractor — would bear the risk of elevation injuries. If they failed to provide proper safety equipment, they'd be strictly liable.
Over 140 years later, the Scaffold Law remains in force. New York is the only state with this level of worker protection. Several industry groups have tried to repeal or weaken §240 over the decades. All attempts have failed.
The core language of Labor Law §240(1): construction contractors and property owners must provide "scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, and other devices" that are "constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection" to workers.
When those required safety devices aren't provided — or are provided but defective — and a worker is injured by elevation hazards as a result, the owner and contractor are absolutely liable.
The injury must be "gravity-related" — caused by elevation differential between the worker and the work site. Common qualifying injuries:
What doesn't qualify: ground-level trip-and-falls, slip-and-falls not involving height differential, and injuries from tool malfunctions unrelated to elevation.
Workers engaged in erection, demolition, repair, alteration, painting, cleaning, or pointing of a building or structure. This covers virtually every construction trade — carpenters, electricians, plumbers, iron workers, HVAC installers, roofers, painters, demolition crews, bricklayers, HVAC technicians, drywallers, and more.
Not covered under §240: routine maintenance (though sometimes a close call), decorative work, agricultural work, work on single-family homes being built or renovated by the owner personally (narrow one- and two-family homeowner exemption).
Immigration status is irrelevant. Undocumented workers are fully protected by the Scaffold Law. Many of the strongest §240 cases involve immigrant construction workers hurt on job sites where contractors cut corners.
The statute names two primary targets:
Both are liable regardless of whether they actually supervised the work or had any knowledge of the dangerous condition. This is what "absolute liability" means — the duty is non-delegable.
Important: Your direct employer (the subcontractor you work for) is not sued under §240 — that's blocked by workers' comp. You sue the owner and GC. This is why §240 cases coexist with your workers' comp claim.
If you were hurt on a NY construction job, you get workers' compensation benefits automatically — your employer's comp carrier pays your medical bills and partial lost wages. But workers' comp caps your recovery, doesn't pay for pain and suffering, and offers very limited future-loss compensation.
The Scaffold Law is additional. It's a separate civil lawsuit against the owner and GC (not your employer) that can produce substantial pain and suffering damages, future lost earnings, and other compensation workers' comp doesn't cover. You collect both.
Note: If you win a §240 case, your workers' comp carrier typically has a lien on your recovery for benefits paid. Your attorney negotiates that lien down.
Labor Law §241(6) is broader than §240. It covers violations of specific NY Industrial Code safety regulations. Unlike §240, comparative negligence applies — your fault can reduce (but not eliminate) recovery.
Labor Law §200 codifies common-law negligence. The owner and contractor have a duty to maintain a safe workplace. Comparative negligence applies.
Most construction accident lawsuits plead all three — §240 for absolute liability on elevation claims, §241(6) for Industrial Code violations, and §200 for general negligence as a backstop.
"The worker was the sole proximate cause." If the worker's own actions were the sole cause of the fall — misusing a provided safety device, refusing to use provided protection — §240 may not apply. This is a narrow defense that courts generally reject when any contributing cause rests with the owner/GC.
"The worker was a recalcitrant worker." If the worker refused safety instructions and used equipment improperly, the §240 claim may fail. Also narrow.
"The injury wasn't elevation-related." Carriers sometimes argue the fall wasn't gravity-driven. Courts have expanded §240 to cover a broad range of elevation hazards.
"The one-family homeowner exemption applies." If the property is a one- or two-family home being built or renovated by the owner personally for their own occupancy, §240 may not apply. Even here, the exemption is narrow and heavily litigated.
Several factors combine to make §240 cases powerful:
Successful §240 cases have produced seven- and eight-figure recoveries. Even "routine" fall cases often settle for high six figures.
If you were injured on a NY construction site — especially from a fall or falling object — the Scaffold Law may give you compensation far beyond what workers' comp provides. The law is powerful but technical. Case strategy requires experienced NY construction accident counsel. See our full NY Construction Accident Lawyer page for more or contact us for a free Scaffold Law case evaluation.
Injured on a NY construction site? Contact Kambo Law, PLLC for a free consultation. All languages. All immigration statuses. No fee unless we win.
Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.