Scaffold Accident Attorney in Manhattan

New York Labor Law & Scaffold Accident Claims

New York provides construction workers with stronger legal protections than nearly any other state, largely because of three statutes that govern job site safety and liability.

Labor Law §240(1): The Scaffold Law

New York Labor Law §240(1) requires all contractors and property owners to furnish or erect scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, and other devices for workers performing the erection, demolition, repair, alteration, painting, cleaning, or pointing of a building or structure. The statute further specifies that scaffolding more than 20 feet from the ground must have a safety rail of suitable material properly attached, bolted, braced, or otherwise secured, rising at least 34 inches above the floor or main portions of the scaffolding and extending along its entire outside length and ends. The scaffolding must also be fastened to prevent it from swaying from the building or structure, and all scaffolding must be constructed to bear at least four times the maximum weight it will carry.

The practical significance of §240(1) is the strict liability standard it imposes. If the required protections were absent and that absence caused a gravity-related injury, a contractor or property owner may be liable regardless of whether the worker contributed to the accident. A worker’s comparative negligence is generally not a defense. The primary exception is the “sole proximate cause” defense: if a worker refused available safety equipment and that refusal was the only cause of the accident, liability may not attach.

Owners of one- and two-family dwellings who don’t direct or control the work are generally exempt from §240(1). Most commercial projects and multi-unit residential construction in Manhattan are fully covered.

Labor Law §241(6) & §200

Labor Law §241(6) requires contractors and owners to comply with specific Industrial Code safety standards for construction, demolition, and excavation work. A violation of those standards gives an injured worker the right to sue directly. Labor Law §200 codifies the common law duty to maintain a reasonably safe job site and applies when a hazardous condition was known and not corrected.

Unlike federal OSHA regulations, which set workplace safety standards but don’t create a private right of action, these Labor Law provisions allow injured workers to file civil lawsuits directly against property owners and general contractors. That distinction makes New York’s framework significantly more protective for injured construction workers.