Scaffold Accident Lawyer in Brooklyn, NY

New York gives construction workers who fall from a height a protection that exists in almost no other state, and most injured workers have never heard of it.

Labor Law § 240(1) — the scaffold law — imposes absolute liability on the property owner and the general contractor when a worker is injured by a gravity-related risk and the safety device required for the task was missing, defective, or not properly placed and secured. Falling from a scaffold or ladder is the classic case; so is being struck by material that was inadequately hoisted or secured.

Two consequences follow, and they are unusual:

• Your own carelessness is generally not a defense. Comparative negligence, which reduces recovery in nearly every other injury case, does not apply to a § 240(1) claim.
• Liability can often be decided before trial, by summary judgment, leaving only the amount of damages in dispute.

The third thing to know is that this claim runs alongside a workers' compensation claim, not instead of it — and the two are linked by a lien.

Workers injured by height-related risks on any construction, renovation, demolition, alteration or painting project. In practice:

• Falls from scaffolds, ladders, hoists, staging or unsecured platforms
• Falls through unguarded floor openings or shaftways
• Workers struck by falling material, tools or debris that was being hoisted or should have been secured
• Collapses of scaffolding, sidewalk sheds or temporary structures
• Facade and Local Law 11 work, which is constant in Brooklyn
• Anyone told the accident was their own fault for not tying off — the availability and adequacy of the device is the legal question, not the worker's care
• Undocumented workers, who have the same rights to both claims

If you fell from any height at work, this is worth a conversation even if the compensation claim is being paid without argument.

The Labor Law claim covers the full range of tort damages, which workers' compensation does not:

• Pain and suffering, past and future — unavailable in workers' compensation
• Full past and future lost earnings and lost earning capacity, not the statutory fraction
• Future medical care, surgery, rehabilitation and equipment
• Home modification and attendant care where the injury is catastrophic
• Loss of services claims by a spouse
• Wrongful death damages, including pecuniary loss to the family

Workers' compensation continues in parallel, covering authorized medical treatment and roughly two-thirds of the average weekly wage subject to the statutory maximum, plus schedule loss of use or classification for permanency.

Labor Law § 240(1) applies where all of the following are present:

• The work was erection, demolition, repair, alteration, painting, cleaning or pointing of a building or structure.
• The defendant is an owner, general contractor or their agent — the statute reaches them regardless of whether they supervised the work.
• The injury was caused by an elevation-related risk — a fall from a height, or an object falling because it was inadequately hoisted or secured.
• No adequate safety device was provided, or the device provided failed — scaffolding, hoists, ladders, slings, braces, ropes or other protection.

Two companion provisions widen the field:

• Labor Law § 241(6) imposes liability for violation of a specific, concrete provision of the Industrial Code, 12 NYCRR Part 23 — for example 23-1.21 governing ladders or Subpart 23-5 governing scaffolds.
• Labor Law § 200 codifies the common-law duty to provide a safe place to work, and requires proof of supervision, control or notice.

The recognised defenses to § 240(1) are narrow: that the worker was the sole proximate cause of the accident, or was a recalcitrant worker who refused an adequate device that was available and that they were instructed to use.

• Three years from the date of the accident for the Labor Law action (CPLR 214).
• Two years for wrongful death, running from the date of death.
• 30 days to give the employer written notice of the injury, and two years to file form C-3 with the Workers' Compensation Board.
• 90 days to serve a notice of claim where the site is owned by the City of New York, NYCHA, the School Construction Authority, the Health and Hospitals Corporation or another public entity — followed by a § 50-h examination and suit within one year and 90 days (General Municipal Law § 50-e).

Cases are filed in Supreme Court, Kings County, 360 Adams Street. Public-owner sites are common in Brooklyn, and the 90-day clock is the one most often missed because it runs while the worker is still hospitalised.

• Get medical treatment and state clearly that the injury happened at work, on a construction site.
• Report the accident to the employer in writing — not verbally — and file the C-3 with the Workers' Compensation Board.
• Photograph the ladder, scaffold or opening exactly as it is, including any tag, model plate, missing component, damaged rung or absent guardrail.
• Photograph the wider scene: the height, the surface below, the absence of netting, planking or anchorage points.
• Record the names of every contractor on site — general contractor, your employer, other trades — and of coworkers who witnessed the fall.
• Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer or investigator before speaking with an attorney.
• Ask an attorney to send a preservation demand immediately for the equipment, the site safety logs, the daily reports and any camera footage.

Step 3 does the decisive legal work. Under § 240(1) and 12 NYCRR 23-1.21, the case is proven by the condition and adequacy of the device — an unsecured ladder, a scaffold without guardrails, a missing anchor point. Equipment on an active site is moved, repaired or removed within hours.

• How often do they move for summary judgment on liability under § 240(1)? A firm that treats this as an ordinary negligence case is leaving the statute's advantage unused.
• Do they handle both the compensation claim and the third-party case, and how do they coordinate them?
• What is their approach to the WCL § 29 lien, which is usually the largest deduction after the fee?
• Will they retain a construction safety and Industrial Code expert, and how quickly?
• Do they investigate the contractual chain — indemnity agreements and additional insured endorsements often determine how much coverage is actually reachable.
• Kings County trial experience, and who personally handles the depositions.

• Immediate preservation demands for the equipment, site logs, daily reports, safety meeting records and video
• Identification of every entity on the project — owner, general contractor, construction manager, subcontractors
• Retention of construction safety, Industrial Code and OSHA experts
• Filing and management of the workers' compensation claim, or coordination with the compensation attorney
• Suit, discovery, and depositions of the site safety manager, superintendent and foreman
• Summary judgment motion on § 240(1) liability, frequently the turning point of the case
• Analysis of contractual indemnity and additional insured coverage across the insurance tower
• Life care planning and economic loss analysis where the injury is permanent
• Negotiation of the compensation lien and any health insurance, Medicare or Medicaid liens
• Mediation, settlement or trial

Call (800) 669-0060 — free, 24/7, in English, Spanish or Russian.

Tell us where the site was, what you were doing, what you fell from, and who else was working there. We check two things on the first call: whether a public owner is involved, which puts a 90-day clock in motion, and whether the accident has been reported to the employer in writing.

We then match you with an attorney in our network who litigates Labor Law cases in Kings County and make the introduction, usually the same day. That consultation is free and carries no obligation.

Nothing upfront in either proceeding.

Workers' compensation: fees are set and approved by the Workers' Compensation Board and paid from the award.

The Labor Law case: New York injury attorneys work on contingency — a percentage of the recovery, nothing if there is no recovery. One-third of the net recovery is the customary arrangement in New York personal injury matters.

What determines what reaches you:

• Whether liability is decided on motion or contested through trial
• Case expenses: construction safety experts, Industrial Code and OSHA analysis, site inspection, medical narratives, life care and economic experts, deposition transcripts, filing fees
• Whether expenses come off before or after the fee is calculated
• Negotiation of the WCL § 29 compensation lien
• Health insurance, Medicare and Medicaid liens
• The full insurance tower available, including additional insured coverage owed up the contractual chain

Ask for the retainer in writing and read the expense and lien paragraphs closely. Our consultation and referral cost nothing.

• Investigation and preservation — the first weeks, and the most time-critical stage.
• Compensation benefits, which can begin within weeks of an accepted claim.
• Notice of claim and § 50-h hearing, where a public owner is involved — several additional months before suit.
• Suit and discovery — typically twelve to eighteen months in Kings County.
• Summary judgment on § 240(1) liability, which often reframes the case entirely.
• Damages discovery, mediation, settlement or trial.

Where liability is established on motion, cases frequently resolve within two years. Contested cases and catastrophic injuries take longer, partly by design: the value of future care and lost earning capacity cannot be fixed until the medical picture is stable.

Because the scaffold law is a specialty, and because two proceedings linked by a lien need to be coordinated from the first week.

• Free consultation; the referral costs you nothing.
• Available 24/7 at (800) 669-0060.
• English, Spanish and Russian.
• Over 30 years matching injured people with attorneys across New York and New Jersey.
• Local case experience in Kings County and throughout New York City.
• Continued involvement after the introduction.

Attorneys in Michael Brook's network give injured construction workers the same two instructions every time: report the accident in writing immediately, and photograph the ladder or scaffold before anyone touches it. Immigration status does not affect either claim, and no one should be discouraged from pursuing them on that basis.

• The first call, free and at any hour, in your language.
• A review of the site, the equipment and the deadlines — including whether a public owner puts a 90-day notice in play.
• The match with an attorney in our network who litigates Labor Law claims in Kings County.
• A free consultation with that attorney, with no obligation to retain.
• Immediate preservation and filing, if you proceed — demands for the equipment and site records, the compensation claim, and the investigation.
• Continued access to us throughout the case if anything needs to be raised.

There is no charge to you for the referral at any stage.

Disclaimer: Michael Brook Attorney Referral is not a law firm and provides no legal representation or legal advice. This is general information and does not replace advice from a licensed attorney about your specific situation. No result is guaranteed.