Artículos publicados en Ladder or Scaffold Accidents

If you’re hurt in an accident while working a construction job, you may have options available to you to obtain compensation for your harm. New York law has statutes that generally permit injured workers to sue the property owners and the general contractors involved in the project where the accident occurred. There are certain exceptions to these legal rules that exist and can get in the way of your recovering compensation, such as the exception granted to owners of one- and two-family dwellings. The key, if you’ve been hurt, is knowing how to structure your case so that it does not get ensnared by legal exceptions. A skilled New York City construction injury attorney can help you to get your day in court and make your case.

As an example of a lawsuit involving the homeowner’s exception, consider the facts of this case. A.T. owned a house in Westchester County, but the 89-year-old woman lived permanently in a nursing home. The homeowner’s children hired M.D. in the summer of 2011 to paint the inside of the vacant house. A.T.’s son told the painter to use a ladder and to access the home through a window. In the process of attempting to enter the window, M.D.’s ladder slipped from beneath him and he fell, suffering substantial injuries. The homeowner died four months after the painter’s accident.

If you’re hurt in an accident like this, there are many things you’ll need to consider. First, does the work you were doing qualify? If you’re a painter like M.D., the answer generally is yes. The New York laws that generally protect construction workers and allow them to recover compensation apply to painters, among others. This means that painters can often bring a lawsuit under these statutes, which include Section 240(1) of the Labor Law (which covers you if you fall or if something falls on you) and Section 241(6) of the Labor Law (which covers you if you are hurt because someone failed to comply with New York State’s safety regulations.)

New York’s Labor Law has some specific statutes designed to protect construction workers who are hurt on the job, and to give them an avenue to obtain much-needed compensation from those responsible for those injuries. If you are hurt on the job and you sue, you will very likely face several obstacles. The entities you sue may claim that the statutes don’t cover you or your injury. They may claim that you were the sole cause of your accident, meaning that you should not receive payment. Achieving a successful result means being prepared for these and other defense arguments. Enhance your chances of success by obtaining the service of an experienced New York City construction injury attorney. .

The workplace accident case of E.M. was an example of one of those type of cases. E.M.’s injuries were the result of a scaffolding accident. The worker was taking down a bridge scaffolding sheet that was attached to underlying support cables. The sheet tipped and, when it did, it caused E.M. to fall some 25-30 feet, where he landed on a steel beam. E.M. had a lanyard but it was detached at the time of the fall.

E.M. sued both his employer and the property owner of site where he was hurt. The Appellate Division recently issued a ruling that said that E.M. was entitled to go forward with his Section 240(1) case against the employer and the property owner. Section 240(1) of the New York Labor Law, sometimes called the “Scaffold Law,” says that workers can recover compensation if they are hurt as a result of improper safety protections and harm that resulted from an “elevation-related” risk of injury.

If you have been injured a workplace accident at your construction job, it is reasonable to imagine that you will not know how to proceed next. You probably have many questions and concerns in this time of stress. Questions about paying your medical bills. Questions about meeting your financial obligations while you’re missing work. For answers to these questions and more, reach out to an experienced New York City construction injury attorney about your rights and your options.

A.G. was an example of such an injured construction worker. The accident that led A.G. to sue in court unfortunately took place on Christmas Eve in 2012. In that accident, A.G. fell from a scaffold and suffered injuries when he tripped on a block, fell backward and tumbled all the way to the ground.

Regrettably, scaffold accidents occur far too often. Whether the scaffold is not inspected or maintained properly enough or frequently enough, debris, supplies or equipment is left on the scaffold surface or the scaffold is not equipped with the proper worker safety protections, shortcomings when it comes to the safety of workers using scaffolds can often lead to serious harm for those workers. A.G.’s case was one that involved a scaffold with inadequate safeguards. The injured worker had evidence that his scaffold didn’t have railings, toe boards, cross-bracing or any places where A.G. could tie off his safety harness.

Many aspects of construction work can be dangerous. Among common duties of a construction worker is work that requires the use of a ladder. Whether it is because the ladder itself is defective, it is improperly secured, or some other reason, ladder-related tasks too often end in injury for the workers involved. If you are hurt while performing work that required the use of a ladder, you should act with all due speed to retain an experienced New York construction accident attorney to help you understand what your legal options are.

Two recent New York City cases serve as examples of how these accidents can occur and how injured workers can succeed in court. The first example is a case from Manhattan. The worker suffered injuries when the ladder upon which he was standing fell out from under him. In his construction injury lawsuit, the worker offered his testimony, which related to how he was on an unsecured ladder when it suddenly slipped from beneath him, causing the fall and the harm.

This testimony by the worker was, by itself, enough to prove what’s called a “prima facie” case of a violation of the law. Prima facie is a phrase from the Latin language meaning “first look.” In the law, it means that the proof offered was enough to support the claim asserted unless the other side can provide evidence to counter the injured worker’s case.

In a construction project, there may be multiple different entities involved. These could include the property owner, the general contractor, multiple subcontractors and others. That means that, if you are injured while working at your construction job, there could be several possible people or entities that you could potentially sue to obtain compensation for your injuries. The key is understanding the law and the facts of the case, and using that understanding to identify the correct defendants in your case. For advice and representation on this and other essential decisions in your construction accident case, make certain you have a knowledgeable New York City construction injury attorney on your side.

In a recent case, a worker named Luis was working on a construction project doing asbestos removal at a high school when he was injured. Luis got hurt when the ladder upon which he was standing moved for no apparent reason, which caused him to fall to the ground.

There were lots of entities involved in the construction project at the school. There was Luis’s employer, which was the subcontractor on the project. A company from Farmingdale was the contractor on the overall project of replacing windows and doors in the school.

New York law has several provisions in it designed to provide strong protection to construction workers who are hurt on the job. One of these is a legal concept called absolute liability. This rule is important because it greatly restricts the way that a defendant can use evidence of your behavior to try to avoid liability. To get the fullest benefit of this and other legal concepts that can potentially help you, be sure to retain skilled New York construction accident counsel to represent you.

One recent case in which this concept of “absolute liability” was a factor was the lawsuit of Garry. Garry’s job consisted of spraying “shotcrete” (gunite or sprayed concrete). To do that, Garry had to climb a straight metal ladder that went 8 feet high. At one point, while climbing the ladder, Garry felt it shift, and he jumped off. He injured his foot when he landed.

Garry sued. In his lawsuit, he argued that the ladder qualified under New York law as a “safety device” and that his fall from it was proof that he had received an inadequate safety device, which was a violation of New York law (Section 240(1) of the Labor Law).

New York has strong laws protecting construction workers working from heights, like those doing jobs while on scaffolds. In fact, one statute, Labor Law Section 240(1), is sometimes nicknamed the “Scaffold Law.” The law says that if you are working on a task that places you at risk of injury from falling from a height or being hit by a falling object, you must be provided with the proper equipment and gear that is “constructed, placed and operated” in a way to ensure that you are safe from falls and falling objects. If you aren’t, and you get hurt as a result, you may be entitled to compensation. To learn more about your options in the legal system, talk to an experienced New York construction accident attorney, who can help you discover more about your rights.

One example of this type of accident and a successful lawsuit was the case of José, a construction worker working in New York City. José was an employee of the general contractor working on a project in Queens when he was hurt. The worker was working on a scaffold when he fell, suffering substantial injuries.

When you’re injured at your construction job, one of the early important steps in your pursuit of compensation is deciding whom to sue. José decided to sue the general contractor and the property owner for the harm he suffered. New York law requires both general contractors and property owners to take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure the safety of workers on the site, and the law also says that these two entities cannot delegate that obligation to anyone. This legal rule makes general contractors and site owners among the key individuals and entities an injured construction worker might pursue in his case.

When you work in construction, especially when your job involves the regular use of ladders, the risk of accidents and injuries is very real. You may be given a defective ladder, a ladder that has not been properly maintained, or the wrong type of ladder for the task assigned to you. Whether your fall from a ladder (and subsequent injuries) was a result of one of these problems or something else, you may be entitled to compensation. To find out more about your rights and your options, contact a knowledgeable New York construction accident attorney, who can help you select a course of action that works for you.

One recent example of a construction worker who suffered an accident involving a ladder was the case of Pedro. Pedro had a job, which he’d held since 2006, working in construction for an employer based in Brooklyn. In June 2012, Pedro was working on a high-rise condominium building in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. He was responsible for scraping the building’s ceilings. Like many construction work requirements, Pedro’s job required him to use a ladder.

While Pedro was doing his scraping work, the six-foot-tall, A-frame ladder upon which he was standing shifted to the left. This caused Pedro to lose his balance and fall to the ground. The worker suffered injuries in the fall.

There are several things you can do to strengthen your injury case and increase your chances of obtaining compensation for your injuries. One of these is to ensure that potentially harmful evidence that should not be part of your case is not allowed into evidence. A knowledgeable New York construction injury attorney can provide invaluable help in accomplishing this in your trial.

An example of a situation in which excluding evidence helped an injured man was the case of Javier. Javier was hired to do some painting work that required him to climb a ladder to paint a decoration on a sign that was attached to a deli. The deli owner provided Javier with an A-frame ladder. About 25 minutes into his job, Javier’s ladder shifted from side to side and fell, causing the painter to fall as well. Javier suffered a back injury, an ankle injury, and broken ribs. His injuries were serious enough that they required him to undergo surgery.

The ladder was the basis for Javier’s lawsuit and claim for compensation. The ladder was not secured, and, according to the painter’s legal arguments, this failure to secure the ladder led to Javier’s fall and injuries.