Building owners, contractors, and their agents must ensure workers are protected from falls and height-related dangers during construction, demolition, and repairs. They must provide and properly install strong and secure safety equipment like scaffolds, hoists, ladders, ropes, and harnesses. Failure to do so makes them fully responsible for any injuries—even if they were not directly supervising the work. This law applies to injuries caused by a fall from a scaffold or objects falling due to gravity, including short falls. The responsibility for ensuring safety lies with the owner or contractor, as they are best positioned to ensure that the job site is secure and hazard-free.
New York’s Labor Law § 240(1), also known as the Scaffold Law, imposes a non-delegable duty on owners, contractors, and their agents to provide proper safety devices to protect workers from elevation-related risks. A violation of this statute occurs when a safety device, such as a scaffold, fails to provide adequate protection, and this failure proximately causes a worker's injuries. The statute is designed to ensure that workers are safeguarded against gravity-related hazards, and liability is often imposed regardless of the worker's own negligence, provided the statutory violation is established.
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Here’s how it works in practice:
- No Need to Prove Negligence:
An injured worker need not prove the defendant acted carelessly, which is otherwise a required element of a personal injury case. Liability is automatic if the injury resulted from inadequate safety devices or failure to comply with §240(1) in gravity-related hazards.
- Non-Delegable Duty:
Owners and contractors remain responsible for safety, even when subcontractors are hired. This ensures responsibility remains with the owner or contractor, who are best positioned to guard against gravity-related risks at a work site.
- Comparative Negligence Doesn’t Apply:
Under §240(1), owners and contractors are completely liable if a violation is proven, unlike other personal injury cases where the injured worker’s fault reduces damages. Even if a worker rushed or misused equipment, their recovery isn’t barred unless they “intentionally refused” safety devices.
A scaffold is defined as any temporary or elevated platform and its supporting structure used for supporting workmen or materials, or both. Scaffolds must meet certain specifications, erection techniques, and load capabilities. Examples of scaffolds include the following:
- Tubular welded frame scaffolds
- Tube and coupler metal scaffolds
- Two-point or multi-point suspension scaffolds
- Needlebeam scaffolds
- Horse scaffolds
- Carpenter’s portable bracket scaffolds
- Bricklayer’s square scaffold
- Lean-to scaffolds
- Trestle and extension trestle ladder scaffolds
- Ladder jack scaffolds
- Boatswain’s chairs
In a scaffold case, the injured worker must demonstrate a violation of the statute by showing that the scaffold was either inadequate, unstable, broken, improperly secured or placed, or lacked necessary safety measures such as stabilizers. Examples of scaffold failure cases that qualify under the Scaffold Law’s protection.
- A scaffold, platform, or temporary structure meant to support a worker at an elevated height, that collapses and causes injury, qualifies under the statute's protection.
- A scaffold that has unstable feet, either due to the absence of rubber feet, being unsecured, or placed on a slippery surface, and collapses, falls, or moves causing injury, qualifies under the statute's protection.
- A scaffold that lacks a restraint bar or guardrail, and causes a worker to fall and sustain injuries, qualifies under the statute’s protection.
- A scaffold that fails because it was not properly erected or placed to guard against the hazards involved in the performance of the work qualifies under the statute’s protection.
In a scaffold failure case, the injured worker must show the statute violation caused the injury. Specifically, the injured worker must prove that the failure of the scaffold was a substantial factor in causing the injury.
There are exceptions to the protections provided by New York’s Scaffold Law. The most widely seen exception is the “Recalcitrant Worker” Defense. Defendants may argue that liability should be avoided if the worker deliberately ignored using available safety devices (e.g., an adequate and properly placed scaffold) despite having access and recent, specific instructions to use them. The defendant must prove the injured worker knew a proper safety device was available, that he was expected to use the proper safety device, that he chose for no good reason not to use the available safety device, and that he refused to follow a specific instruction to use the appropriate safety device. If the defendant fails to prove these circumstances, the injured worker’s accident qualifies under the protection of the statute.