Why height-related falls are treated differently
A provision of New York's Labor Law, often called the Scaffold Law, places responsibility on owners and contractors to provide proper protection against certain gravity-related hazards, such as falls from a height and falling objects, though some homeowners are exempt. When that duty is violated and causes the injury, the worker's own carelessness generally does not reduce the owner's or contractor's liability the way it would in an ordinary negligence case. The protection has limits, and defenses exist, including the argument that the worker's own conduct was the sole cause of the accident. Whether a particular task and a particular device fall within the law is often the main fight. Other provisions of the Labor Law may apply when the injury was not height-related.
What happens alongside the lawsuit
Workers' compensation from your employer usually still applies, and a scaffold claim is typically brought against the owner and the general contractor rather than your own employer. The compensation insurer will generally have a lien on any recovery, which affects settlement. If the property belongs to a city, a public authority, or another government body, a notice of claim may be due within a short window, well before an ordinary lawsuit would be filed. Missing that notice can end a claim that would otherwise be strong.
Securing the evidence early
Construction sites change daily, and scaffolds are taken down, moved, or rebuilt. Photos of the scaffold and the area, the names of coworkers and foremen who were there, and the name of the company that put up the scaffold are worth gathering as soon as you are able, through people who are allowed on the site. Keep your medical records, pay stubs, and union paperwork if you are a member. In a first meeting, we identify every company involved in the project, the owner, and any public entity, and we look at which notices and filings have to go out first. Contracts between those companies often decide who ultimately pays.
