New Yorkers accept a certain degree of risk by living in one of the United States’ busiest cities. New York is also a city that seems to always be under construction. There’s scaffolding all over the city, it seems, and New York has specific laws pertaining to its use.
New York’s Scaffold Safety Law lets injured workers sue their employers if they violate safety requirements for erecting and maintaining scaffolding. You can file a lawsuit instead of only filing a Workers’ Compensation claim, opening the door to greater damages overall.
Our NYC construction accident lawyers can give you a free case evaluation when you call The Carrion Law Firm at (718) 841-0083.
What Are New York City’s Scaffolding Safety Laws?
Scaffolding structures need to be sound, as workers rely on stability for their safety. New York’s Scaffold Safety Law exists to protect construction workers, ensure that scaffolds are built correctly, and create a cause of action for injured workers.
Safety Provisions
The Scaffold Safety Law, or L.A.B. Law § 240, outlines the safety requirements for scaffolding. To meet New York’s standards, scaffolds need to bear four times the anticipated weight of workers and equipment, among other provisions.
Scaffolding over a certain height, 20 feet, needs 34-inch railings and other safety measures to prevent falls or injuries. In New York City, scaffolding can be much higher than 20 feet. The area is full of skyscrapers, and construction workers are vulnerable to falling from very tall heights if there aren’t necessary safety measures in place.
If you suspect that scaffolding in your community is in danger of collapsing or causing severe injury, contact the NYC Scaffolding Safety Unit. Enforcement complaints are taken seriously and can lead to fines and other administrative actions against property owners. These complaints can detect critical design and material condition failures that could lead to tragic outcomes.
Employer Liability
Constructing the massive buildings in New York City is a dangerous job. The Scaffold Safety Law provides a path to compensation for workers and their families in case of a fall. Construction companies can be liable for worker injuries related to improperly constructed or maintained scaffolding. If an employer’s negligence contributed to a worker’s fall or injury, they could be financially responsible.
Without the strict provisions in this law, workers may be unable to sue their employers for damages and may only be able to pursue Workers’ Compensation claims. Falls from such a height can result in death or serious bodily injury, and filing a lawsuit may be necessary for victims or their survivors to get the appropriate damages.
If you were injured in an accident or fall at a construction site and are unsure whether or not your employer is liable, ask our White Plains construction accident attorneys. Our NYC construction accident injury lawyers can help you pursue litigation against a negligent employer if they violated New York’s scaffolding safety provisions.
Other Laws
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has guidelines for scaffolding safety that New York City construction companies must meet, in addition to the Scaffold Safety Law.
For example, OSHA requires scaffolding to be constructed per the original design. All scaffolding platforms must be planked, and ladders must be a certain width. There are other specific requirements for scaffolding established by OSHA to ensure worker safety.
You can report your employer to OSHA for a scaffolding safety violation. Employers can incur significant fines for an OSHA violation. Reporting inadequate scaffolding can keep you and your peers safe, so don’t hesitate to do so.
OSHA Laws for New York Construction Workers
OSHA guidelines provide contractors, property owners, and construction management companies with reasonable measures to improve workplace safety. These steps reduce the risk of fall and gravity-related injuries when workers access closed plumbing systems, work on electrical junction boxes, lay sheetrock or drywall, or perform other hazardous elevated work.
Fall risks can be further reduced through the use of adequately constructed scaffolding. As our NYC scaffolding construction accident lawyers know, scaffolding used with OSHA-approved harnesses protects people below active job sites from falling objects when correctly used. Evidence aside, contractors and property owners regularly fail to abide by state law and sound practices, and many New Yorkers suffer injuries as a consequence.
Unsafe scaffolding is one of the most frequently cited OSHA violations nationwide. The other fall-related OSHA violations that lead the list include failure to use or issue adequate fall protection, use of unsafe ladders, and the absence of industry-standard fall protection training.
When job site accidents and fall injuries occur, the results are often tragic. Lifelong injuries can disrupt career plans, lead to chronic pain, and cause significant medical bills. If you or a loved one were injured while working on or walking by a construction site, contact our Brooklyn construction accident lawyers for a free case review.
The Scaffolding Law and Workers’ Compensation in New York City
Workers injured by scaffolding collapses, accidents, or falls in other states are left to rely on Workers’ Compensation alone to cover lost wages and medical bills. New York offers additional protections to victims of workplace falls from scaffolding collapses.
The Scaffold Law imposes substantial liability on contractors and most property owners for injuries sustained by construction site workers and site visitors. Contractors and most property owners will be financially responsible whenever a worker or visitor is injured because of unsafe scaffolding or a lack of fall protection.
New York also permits injured workers suing for fall and gravity-related injuries under the Scaffold Law to file for Workers’ Compensation to reduce the financial impact of job-related injuries.
Filing a lawsuit after a scaffolding accident means potentially recovering non-economic damages. Chronic pain, emotional distress, and other non-economic damages can come from lawsuits, so ask our lawyers if you can sue after a workplace accident in New York.
What Workers Does the Scaffolding Law Protect in New York?
The Scaffolding Law aims to protect construction workers and visitors to construction sites from fall-related injuries by creating a powerful tool to hold negligent construction companies accountable.
Whether the injury occurs when tools fall from a height, a worker falls from a railing, or an unsteady room collapses on a work site visitor, New York law provides more legal protections than many other states.
The typical gravity-related injury involves an object falling from a height onto someone walking on the job site below. To be protected by the New York scaffolding law, an employee needs to be working in the construction, demolition, or repair of buildings.
The law also protects painters, building cleaners, and window washers and establishes strict guidelines for the type of safety equipment issued to people working on or visiting a job site.
The law also requires construction site management to inspect their worksites to ensure that no machinery, equipment, or devices create an undue risk to any employees or visitors.
Keep in mind the Scaffolding Law only applies to construction work. This law does not cover routine upkeep, light housekeeping, and maintenance.
What Injuries Are Not Covered by the New York Scaffolding Law?
Not all injuries are covered under the Scaffold Safety Law. For example, property owners and contractors can avoid liability for falls and gravity-related injuries if the injured worker was hurt because they refused to use the provided safety equipment or because they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Contractors that provide adequate safety equipment and fall protection can also reduce their liability.
The Scaffolding Safety Law also does not protect motorcyclists, bus passengers, or pedestrians injured by falling construction debris unless they are legally on a job site. If falling objects injured you while walking on a sidewalk, contact the Long Island construction injury lawyers, as you may still have a claim against the negligent construction company.
What to Do If You Are a Pedestrian Injured by Scaffolding
Properly designed scaffolding can protect pedestrians from falling objects, but even the best scaffolding can create unique dangers, resulting in dangerous falls. Contractors must make sure that the scaffolding they erect protects pedestrians from falling objects. It must also be well-lit, free from trip and fall hazards, and generally in good condition.
Companies must regularly inspect the scaffolding they build to ensure that it is structurally sound. While contractors are responsible for checking suspended scaffolds, supported scaffolds, and sidewalk sheds for rot, wear, and metal fatigue, inferior construction methods are still prevalent in New York City. Even the best-made scaffolding can also fall into disrepair through heavy use or neglect.
How Long Do You Have to Sue for a Scaffolding Accident?
In addition to laws about scaffolding safety, there are also laws restricting how long victims may sue for scaffolding accidents in New York. Even if it’s by mistake, missing the statute of limitations may block you from getting any compensation.
C.V.P. Law § 214(5) gives you three years from the date of injury to sue. Three years is not very long, especially considering scaffolding accident victims often suffer bad injuries that require most of their time and attention.
Rarely do victims have longer than three years to sue for scaffolding accidents unless one of New York’s few exceptions to the statute of limitations apply. Let our attorneys determine your filing deadline and do what’s necessary to meet it.
It’s best to initiate your case with our lawyers straight after a fall from scaffolding, scaffolding collapsing, or another scaffolding accident. That helps ensure evidence is still accessible for your claim.
What Evidence Do You Need for a Scaffolding Accident in New York?
Lawsuits for scaffolding accidents require evidence, which we can collect for victims in New York.
Photos
Photos are among the most important forms of concrete evidence in injury lawsuits. If scaffolding collapses, take pictures of the fallout. You may have visible injuries, which you can also photograph to prove you were hurt in the scaffolding accident.
Falls and other scaffolding accidents are often very damaging for victims. If you are too hurt to take useful pictures, you can ask witnesses for help.
Video Footage
Construction sites often have surveillance systems in place to deter theft and vandalism. We can use a lawsuit to preserve footage from the construction site showing a scaffolding collapse, as your employer may have an incentive to delete it.
If the construction site doesn’t have useful footage, we may get videos from nearby businesses’ security cameras, which is likely in an area like New York City.
Medical Records
You’re likely to suffer serious injuries in a scaffolding incident, so go to the hospital. This yields medical records that we can get and use as evidence in your lawsuit. Medical records contain MRIs, X-rays, and other test results, notes from procedures, surgical reports, prescribed medications, and other details about your injuries and care.
With your permission, we can get all relevant records from hospitals and providers.
Witness Statements
Eyewitnesses may testify about scaffolding suddenly collapsing and other important details. Eyewitnesses include peers also on the worksite or individuals who were walking or driving by at the time. You are also a witness, and your testimony can be strong evidence in a lawsuit.
Even experts who can examine photos and other evidence and testify about scaffolding’s poor design or installation.
Will My Scaffolding Accident Lawsuit Go to Trial in New York?
Whether or not your scaffolding accident lawsuit goes to trial in New York City depends on the settlement offers we get and your general goals for the case.
Lawsuits often settle so victims can get compensation sooner. Trials do not always take much longer than settlements, however, and our attorneys can explain the perks of going to court.
If the defendant’s conduct warrants punitive damages, using that may get us bigger out-of-court offers. The court gives punitive damages to punish defendants, and the defendant may want to avoid such public acknowledgment of their egregious misconduct.
If punitive damages are on the table, we can go to trial to claim them. Going to trial may also yield greater non-economic damages than a defendant would agree to pay in a settlement.
Common Injuries from New York City Scaffolding Law Violations
Construction companies and other parties who violate New York City’s scaffolding safety laws risk causing life-altering or fatal injuries to victims.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) are some of the most common in scaffolding accidents. Even when construction workers wear the proper protective headgear, falls from great heights may still result in traumatic brain injuries.
TBIs sometimes cause permanent brain damage, which means life-long lost wages and other damages, all of which our lawyers can factor into your total losses.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries and other back injuries can happen from any fall, especially falls from tall scaffolding. Spinal cord injuries might cause paralysis in victims, which may be permanent. Even with physical therapy, victims may never regain full mobility, entitling them to considerable compensation.
Fractures
Fractures are very common during scaffolding accidents. Whether fall-prevention gear fails or scaffolding collapses, victims might suffer many broken bones, all of which must be assessed. Displaced and compound fractures are among the most painful and intense broken bones to treat and may require months off work to heal.
Fatal Injuries
Deaths from scaffolding accidents also happen. When they do, victims’ survivors may claim damages from wrongful death lawsuits, which our lawyers also help file and win in New York City.
Contact Our Attorneys if You Were Injured on or By Scaffolding in New York
Call our Staten Island construction accident lawyers at (718) 841-0083 for a free case discussion with The Carrion Law Firm.