The law that applies to your claim
Labor Law §240(1) — the Scaffold Law
Applies to gravity-related risks: falls from height, and objects falling onto a worker. Where it applies, owners and general contractors bear absolute liability for failing to provide proper protection — and your own carelessness is generally not a defense. That is unusual, and it is why these claims are fought so hard.
Labor Law §241(6)
Requires owners and contractors to keep the site reasonably safe, measured against the specific rules in the Industrial Code (12 NYCRR Part 23). A claim must point to a concrete rule that was violated — a general complaint about safety is not enough.
Labor Law §200 and common-law negligence
The general duty to provide a safe workplace. It requires showing the defendant actually supervised or controlled the work, or created the condition.
Workers’ compensation is not the whole claim
If you were hurt on the job you are probably already receiving workers’ compensation. That system pays medical treatment and a portion of lost wages — and it bars you from suing your own employer.
It does not bar a claim against anyone else. On a construction site there are usually several other parties: the property owner, the general contractor, subcontractors from other trades, an equipment lessor, a manufacturer. A third-party claim against them runs alongside your comp case and is where compensation for pain, suffering and future loss actually comes from.
This is the single most common reason injured construction workers leave money unrecovered — they assume comp is all there is.
The accidents these statutes were written for
- Falls from scaffolds, ladders, roofs, and through unguarded floor openings
- Collapsing scaffolds, hoists, and man lifts
- Objects, materials or tools falling onto workers below
- Trench and excavation collapses
- Crane, derrick and rigging failures
- Being struck by or caught in equipment
- Electrocution from live wiring or contact with power lines
Evidence disappears from a site within days
Sites change fast. Scaffolding is struck, a ladder goes back on the truck, the trench is filled. The accident report is written by people who work for the parties you may end up suing.
What matters early: photographs of the equipment and the condition, the identity of every contractor on site that day, the safety plan and any prior violations, and the names of witnesses before the crew disperses to other jobs. We move on this immediately, because the difference between a §240 case and a denied claim is often a photograph nobody took.
How long you have to act
- Three years from the date of the accident for most negligence claims (CPLR §214).
- Two years for wrongful death (EPTL §5-4.1).
- 90 days to serve a notice of claim where a city, county, school district, transit authority or other public body is involved (General Municipal Law §50-e), with suit generally within one year and 90 days.
The 90-day rule is the one that quietly ends otherwise strong cases. If a public entity may be involved, that is the first thing to check — not the last.
What it costs
Nothing up front. These cases are handled on contingency: there is no fee unless we win, and the consultation is free. You will be told the percentage and how expenses are handled, in writing, before you sign anything.
Common questions
I am undocumented. Can I still bring a claim?
Yes. New York courts have held that immigration status does not bar an injured worker from recovering under the Labor Law. Your status is not a defense for a property owner who failed to provide a safe scaffold.
My employer says it was my fault.
Under §240(1), comparative fault is generally not a defense where the statute applies — the duty to provide proper protection is absolute. Even outside §240, New York uses pure comparative negligence (CPLR §1411), so being partly at fault reduces recovery but does not bar it.
Will I lose my job if I bring a claim?
Retaliating against a worker for pursuing an injury claim is unlawful. The claim is against the owner and contractor, not usually against your employer at all.
