In a recent decision, the New York Supreme Court’s Appellate division signaled an intention to expand the protection to New York construction workers who sustain personal injuries on a construction site because of falls from unprotected heights.
In this recent case, a demolition worker sustained personal injuries while climbing over an eight-foot- high, partially demolished wall and a pile of demolition debris which was blocking the doorway to go to a different work area. While climbing the wall, the demolition worker tripped and fell over the eight-foot wall and sustained serious personal injuries.
While many construction accident attorneys analyze Labor Law 240, only as to whether a ladder, plank or scaffold, our New York construction accident lawyers also focus on the lack or failure of a contractor or construction site owner to provide a ladder or scaffold or other device to safely work at a height or prevent a fall from occurring. As New York’s Supreme Court’s Appellate Department recently held, the critical issue in a Labor Law 240 case is whether plaintiff’s injuries were the direct consequence of a failure to provide adequate protection against a risk arising from a physically significant elevation differential.
Therefore when construction workers in New York are not given adequate tools and have to improvise to do their work, and they get hurt on a construction job site, our New York construction accident attorneys will continue to protect New York’s construction workers who get injured for no good reason.
