What the Scaffold Law protects against
Labor Law 240(1) addresses elevation-related, or gravity, hazards on construction sites – falls from heights and objects falling from above. It requires owners and contractors to provide proper protection such as scaffolds, ladders, hoists, and safety devices for workers exposed to those risks.
It is aimed squarely at the special dangers of working at height, which is why not every construction injury falls under it – the accident generally has to involve a height differential or a falling object that should have been secured.
Why it is so strong for workers
When it applies, Labor Law 240(1) imposes a strict, non-delegable duty on owners and general contractors. That means an injured worker’s own ordinary carelessness generally does not reduce the recovery the way it would in a typical negligence case.
There are limits and defenses – for example, where the worker’s own conduct was the sole cause of the accident, or where a worker refused to use available safety devices – so the facts of how the fall happened matter a great deal.
Who is liable, and the homeowner exception
The duty falls on the property owner and the general contractor (and their agents) – not, in the ordinary case, on your own employer, whom you generally cannot sue because of workers’ comp. That is why a Scaffold Law case is a third-party claim that can sit on top of your comp benefits.
New York carves out an exception for owners of one- and two-family homes who do not direct or control the work. Commercial sites and larger projects are the heartland of these claims.