Scaffold accidents and Labor Law §240
A scaffold that collapses, shifts, or was never properly secured leaves a worker with nowhere to go. New York treats that as a specific legal wrong rather than an ordinary accident, and the protection it provides is among the strongest in the country.
What the scaffold law actually says
Labor Law §240(1) is known as the scaffold law. It requires owners and general contractors to furnish and erect scaffolding, hoists, ladders, and similar devices so as to give proper protection to workers exposed to elevation-related risks. It covers falls from a scaffold and injuries caused by objects falling from one. We have written a longer explanation of how the statute works in our guide to the New York scaffold law.
Where the statute applies, the duty it places on owners and contractors is not reduced by an argument that the worker was partly careless. That is what separates it from an ordinary negligence claim, and it is why these cases are heavily litigated over whether the injury arose from an elevation-related risk at all.
Scaffolding failures we see
Planks that were not secured, missing guardrails, missing or unusable safety lines, a scaffold erected on uneven ground, overloading, and structures altered by another trade after they were inspected. Falling debris and dropped tools can also fall within the statute where the object was being hoisted or required securing for the work.
Labor Law §241(6) and §200
Not every scaffold injury is an elevation case. Labor Law §241(6) allows a claim where a specific safety provision of the New York Industrial Code was violated, and §200 reflects the general duty to provide a reasonably safe place to work. We plead what the facts support rather than forcing a case into one statute. Scaffold work sits inside the wider set of job site claims covered on our construction accidents page.
Workers' compensation is usually not the whole picture
Workers' compensation generally bars suing your own employer directly, and it does not pay for pain and suffering. Most job sites involve more than one company, and a claim may exist against the property owner, the general contractor, or another contractor on the site. Those third-party claims exist alongside your compensation claim rather than replacing it.
We also represent undocumented workers. Immigration status does not remove these protections.
Evidence and deadlines
Site photographs, scaffold erection and inspection records, sign-in sheets, and the identity of every contractor on site all matter, and some of it changes within days as the work continues. Most injury claims must be started within three years under CPLR 214. Public projects can carry a 90-day notice of claim requirement, and workers' compensation has its own separate and much shorter notice deadlines.
Frequently asked questions
What is New York's scaffold law?
Labor Law §240(1) requires owners and general contractors to provide proper protection to workers exposed to elevation-related risks, including scaffolds, ladders, and hoists. Where it applies, the duty is not reduced by an argument that the worker was partly careless.
Does the scaffold law cover objects falling on me?
It can. Labor Law §240(1) covers injuries from objects that fall while being hoisted or that required securing for the purposes of the work, not only falls from a height.
Can I bring a scaffold claim if I am receiving workers' compensation?
Often yes. Workers' compensation generally bars suing your own employer and does not pay for pain and suffering, but most job sites involve other companies, such as a property owner or general contractor, against whom a separate third-party claim may exist.
