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Workers on construction sites who are forced to work at a height on scaffolds, ladders, I-beams, or other heights, are often required to risk their health and well-being on a daily basis. Because of this fact, the New York Legislature enacted New York’s Labor Law § 240(1) to ensure that general contractors, property owners, and the employers of construction workers do not take unnecessary risks with the health and well-being of their workers without having to face liability for injuries.

Labor Law § 240(1) expressly provides:

All contractors and owners and their agents,…in the erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning or pointing of a building or structure shall furnish or erect, or cause to be furnished or erected for the performance of such labor scaffolding, stays, ladders, slings, hangers, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, and other devices which shall be so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection to a person so employed.

Additionally, the highest Court in the State of New York – The Court of Appeals – has noted that: ”The purpose of the section is to protect workers by placing the “ultimate responsibility for worksite safety on the owner and general contractor, instead of the workers themselves.”

This law also applies to situations where construction workers are struck by materials which fell onto them as the result of improper securing of the materials while the materials were being hoisted.

If you or someone you know has been injured as the result of a height-related accident, the experienced Brooklyn accident lawyer at Law Offices of William J. Maniatis are here to help.

Contact us for a FREE consultation at absolutely no obligation or cost to you.