The law that applies to your claim
Industrial Code 23-1.21 — ladders
Sets requirements for construction, maintenance and use: sound side rails and rungs, secure footing, ladders held or secured against movement where required, and extension ladders projecting adequately above the landing. It is one of the most heavily litigated provisions in Part 23.
The unsecured ladder case
Where a ladder slips, kicks out, twists or wobbles and a worker falls, courts have repeatedly found §240(1) liability — the ladder by definition failed to provide proper protection. Whether the worker could have positioned it better is generally not a defense.
Defective equipment
Bent rails, missing or worn feet, cracked rungs, seized spreaders on a stepladder and improvised repairs all support the claim. So does using a ladder rated below the load it was carrying.
How ladder falls actually happen
- Base kicks out on a smooth, wet or dusty floor
- Ladder set at too shallow an angle, or on uneven ground
- Not tied off at the top and shifting as the worker reaches
- Stepladder used folded against a wall, or with the spreader unlocked
- Extension ladder not projecting far enough above the landing to step off safely
- Missing or worn non-slip feet
- Overreaching because the ladder was too short for the work
Preserve the ladder itself
Unlike a scaffold, a ladder is small enough to disappear immediately — back on the truck, back to the rental yard, or simply thrown out because it was already damaged.
If it can be secured, secure it. Photograph the feet, the rails, the rung that failed, the surface it stood on, and the position it ended in. Rental records showing which ladder was delivered, and its condition on return, are often available even when the ladder itself is gone.
Related
Ladder falls are §240(1) claims — see Labor Law 240. Where the surface the ladder stood on was itself the problem, an Industrial Code claim under §241(6) may run alongside it.
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 set the ladder up myself.
That rarely defeats a §240(1) claim. The duty to provide proper protection sits with the owner and general contractor, and comparative fault is not a defense under that section.
Nobody was holding the ladder.
That is often the violation. Where a ladder cannot be secured, having it footed by another worker is the alternative — the absence of both is what proves the claim.
I was on the second step.
Height is not the test. Courts have found §240(1) claims from very low falls where the height differential mattered to the task.
