If you fell from a height on a New York construction site, your workers’ comp claim may not be the whole story. The NY Scaffold Law (Labor Law §240(1)) can hold property owners and general contractors strictly liable when a worker is hurt by a gravity-related risk. That means a fall lawsuit can exist alongside your comp benefits, and it can be worth far more.
The law that puts owners on the hook
Labor Law Section 240(1) is one of the strongest worker-protection laws in the country. It requires owners, general contractors, and their agents to provide proper safety devices for jobs involving “elevation-related” or “gravity-related” risks. Think ladders, scaffolds, hoists, slings, pulleys, braces, and similar protections.
When those protections are missing or fail, and a worker falls or is struck by a falling object that should have been secured, the law imposes strict liability. Strict liability means the owner or contractor can be on the hook even if they were not personally careless. You do not have to prove they “should have known better” the way you do in an ordinary negligence case.
This matters because workers’ compensation does not pay for your pain and suffering, and it usually replaces only two-thirds of your average weekly wage up to a cap. A Section 240 lawsuit against a third party (not your employer) can recover full lost wages, pain and suffering, and more.
Why it is called the “Scaffold Law”
The nickname comes from its history protecting workers on scaffolds, but the law covers many elevation tasks, not just scaffolding. It applies to falls from ladders, roofs, beams, and unguarded edges, and to objects falling from above that needed securing.
The falls that qualify (and the ones that don’t)
Section 240 is powerful, but it is not a catch-all. The injury has to flow from an elevation or gravity risk. Common qualifying situations include:
- A scaffold collapses, tips, or has no guardrail and you fall.
- A ladder slips, wobbles, or is the wrong height for the task.
- You fall through an unguarded floor opening or off an unprotected roof edge.
- A heavy object that was being hoisted or that needed securing falls and strikes you.
- A hoist, pulley, or rigging device fails.
What it usually does NOT cover
Not every fall on a site is a Scaffold Law case. When a hazard is not elevation-related, an Industrial Code claim under §241(6) may apply instead. Courts look closely at the facts. The law generally does not apply when:
- You trip and fall at the same level (a slip on a flat floor is not an elevation risk).
- The height difference is so small that no protective device was needed.
- A falling object was not something that required securing for the job.
The phrase to remember is that facts matter. Two falls that sound similar can have very different outcomes depending on the height, the device involved, and what safety equipment was or was not provided.
Who you can sue, and who you cannot
This is the heart of why Section 240 is a lawsuit and not just a comp claim.
In New York, you generally cannot sue your own employer for negligence. Under Workers’ Compensation Law §11, comp is the “exclusive remedy” against your employer. There are only narrow exceptions, such as an employer who illegally carried no workers’ comp insurance, or a true intentional act by the employer.
But Section 240 lets you sue parties who are not your employer:
- The property owner.
- The general contractor.
- The owner’s or GC’s agents (a party given authority to control the work).
These are “third parties.” A third-party lawsuit is separate from your comp claim, and it is where the elevation-related value comes from. You can often pursue comp benefits and a Section 240 case at the same time.
The three construction-safety laws at a glance
A single accident can trigger more than one of New York’s construction-safety statutes. Here is how they compare:
| Statute | What it covers | Who is liable | Key requirement |
|---|---|---|---|
| Labor Law §240(1) | Gravity / elevation risks (falls, falling objects) | Owners, GCs, their agents | A missing or failed safety device caused an elevation-related injury (strict liability) |
| Labor Law §241(6) | Broader construction, demolition, excavation hazards | Owners, GCs | Violation of a specific NY Industrial Code rule (12 NYCRR Part 23) |
| Labor Law §200 | General worksite negligence | Owners, GCs (and others with control) | Notice of the hazard or control over how the work was done |
The one- and two-family homeowner exception
There is an important carve-out. Owners of one- and two-family homes are generally exempt from Section 240 when they do not direct or control the work. So a homeowner who hires a contractor for a small home project usually is not strictly liable. This exception does not apply to commercial owners or to homeowners who actively run the job.
How a Scaffold Law case fits with your workers’ comp
Filing a Section 240 lawsuit does not mean giving up workers’ compensation. The two systems work together, with some coordination:
- Your comp benefits (medical care and a portion of lost wages) keep flowing through the New York Workers’ Compensation Board, the state agency that handles comp (wcb.ny.gov).
- Your third-party lawsuit seeks the damages comp does not cover, like pain and suffering and full wage loss.
- If your lawsuit recovers money, your comp insurer may have a lien (a right to be paid back for some benefits it already provided). How that is handled is a detail an attorney manages.
How these Scaffold Law cases usually unfold
Most Section 240 cases move through the same arc, even though every site and injury differs.
- Comp starts the clock. You report the injury to your employer in writing within 30 days, file the comp claim within New York’s two-year deadline, and medical and partial-wage benefits begin flowing while everything else develops.
- The fall gets reconstructed. Attention turns to the height, the device, and what safety equipment was or was not provided, because that is what decides whether the elevation-related risk fits the statute.
- The non-employer defendants are identified. The owner, the general contractor, and any controlling agent come into focus, since the strict-liability value rides on them rather than your employer.
- The strict-liability fight plays out. The defense often argues the worker was the *sole* cause of the accident (for example, ignoring an available, adequate safety device), because ordinary worker carelessness is usually not a defense under strict liability. If the fall fits the law, these cases frequently resolve by settlement; outcomes vary by case.
- The lien is squared away. Whatever the third-party case recovers, the comp insurer’s lien on part of it is sorted out so the net recovery is structured well.
A lawsuit has its own deadline separate from the comp deadlines, so acting promptly protects both tracks.
Related on SueWorkInjury
- Labor Law §241(6) and the NY Industrial Code: when you can sue
- Suing the owner or general contractor after a NY construction accident
- More construction accident lawsuit guides
If you were hurt in a fall or by a falling object on a New York construction site, it is worth understanding whether Section 240 turns your situation into a lawsuit, not just a comp claim. To learn where you stand, for a free case review with a New York work-injury attorney.
*This article is general information, not legal advice. Talk with a New York attorney about your specific facts.*