As an experienced New York workplace accident lawyer, I have represented numerous painters who were injured because of a fall from a ladder or scaffold. Painters in New York are covered by Labor Law 240, which is usually utilized for construction workers in New York. However, the Courts have held that painters are covered under this law, regardless of whether they were involved in construction. As the New York Courts have routinely said, New York’s Labor Law 240 protects painters in New York and it does not matter whether the painting was related to a construction project. From our White Plains office, our Westchester construction accident attorneys have represented numerous injured painters and construction workers.
Unfortunately painters in New York often work at dangerous heights with defective, old and broken ladders. These painters are forced to take tremendous risks with their own safety to get the job done. Painters who fall from broken ladders are entitled to sue the property owner (except for one and two family homes) and may recover money for their pain, suffering, lost wages and medical costs.
New York’s Labor Law 240 requires that painters be provided with safe means to do their job. A broken or defective ladder establishes a violation of labor law 240 and it does not matter whether the painter was partially at fault. The Courts have held that a device (ladder, scaffold, plank) is insufficient as a matter of law where it fails to perform its function of supporting the workers and their materials.
