New York Injury Attorneys Blog

As a New York construction accident attorney who has represented numerous New York marine construction workers, including dock builders who sustain injuries, I am thoroughly familiar with the Labor Laws that protect New York construction workers. In recent years, the New York waterfront has undergone extensive marine construction with renovation projects along the westside and east sides of Manhattan. There has also been extensive waterfront construction along Brooklyn and the Bronx water front. New York construction accident attorneys must be familiar with industry standards which are relevant to the marine construction industry to pursue Labor Law 200 construction accidnet cases. Although OSHA regulations dont support Labor Law 241 cases, they can establish Labor Law 200 cases under dangerous condition or work practice issues. Below is a brief summary of the appliable OSHA regulations concerning marine construction workers who work on work planks, float stages:

29 CFR 1910.28(u)(1) "Float or ship scaffolds." Float or ship scaffolds shall support not more than three men and a few light tools, such as those needed for riveting, bolting, and welding.

29 CFR 1910.28 (u)(2) The platform shall be not less than 3 feet wide and 6 feet long, made of three-quarter-inch plywood, equivalent to American Plywood Association Grade B-B, Group I, Exterior.

29 CFR 1910.28 (u)(3) Under the platform, there shall be two supporting bearers made from 2- x 4-inch, or 1- x 10-inch rough, selected lumber, or better. They shall be free
of knots or other flaws and project 6 inches beyond the platform on both sides. The ends of the platform shall extend about 6 inches beyond the outer edges of the bearers. Each bearer shall be securely fastened to the platform.

29 CFR 1910.28(u)(4) An edging of wood not less than 3/4 x 1 1/2 inches, or equivalent, shall be placed around all sides of the platform to prevent tools from rolling off.

29 CFR 1910.28(u)(5) Supporting ropes shall be 1-inch diameter manila rope or equivalent, free from deterioration, chemical damage, flaws, or other imperfections. Rope connections shall be such that the platform cannot shift or slip. If two ropes are used with each float, each of the two supporting ropes shall be hitched around one end of a bearer and pass under the platforms to the other end of the bearer where it is hitched again, leaving sufficient rope at each end for the supporting ties.

29 CFR 1910.28 (u)(6) Each workman shall be protected by a safety lifebelt attached to a lifeline. The lifeline shall be securely attached to substantial members of the structure (not scaffold), or to securely rigged lines, which will safely suspend the workman in case of a fall.

Construction accident victims should not just assume that they are responsible for their personal injuries. Most New York construction accidents involve violations of the New York Labor Law. Under the New York Labor Laws, the general contractor and owner of a construction site are responsible for violations of the labor law. New York personal injury lawyers who represent construction workers who suffer personal injuries and wrongful death, must be familiar with the details of the Labor Law.

Often the question becomes who is an owner.Labor Law § 240 requires all contractors and owners and their agents to give proper protection to a persons employed on construction sites. The term owner under Labor Law § 240 has not been limited to titleholders but has been held to encompass any person or company who has an interest in the property and who fulfilled the role of owner by contracting to have work performed.

Another common defense is the claim by the contractor that they are not responsible because the owner hired the subcontractor. Labor Law § 240 requires that all contractors and owners shall undertake certain measures to protect the individuals employed in the construction work. It doesn't matter whether the general contractor directly hired the sub-contractor or whether the owner hired the sub-contractor because the general contractor is required to provide proper protection to persons employed on the site, so long as the general contractor retains the right to control and direct aspects of the work.

As an experienced New York construction accident lawyer, I have represented hundreds of injured construction workers who fell from ladders or scaffolds in the New York City Metropolitan Area, including Manhattan, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and Westchester including White Plains, Yonkers, Port Chester, New Rochelle and Ossining.

In a recent trend of cases, the Courts have been permitting general contractors and construction site owners to argue that they are not responsible for not having safety equipment such as good ladders planks, scaffolds and life lines available because they injured construction worker was the sole cause of the accident.

These arguments take a number of forms, and New York construction accident lawyers must be ever vigilant to argue against these blame the injured New York construction worker defenses. Among the common arguments are i) that the injured construction worker misused a device, ii) that the injured construction worker disobeyed some instructions or that the ladder or scaffold was adequate.

New York construction accident lawyers must carefully research these issues and be careful not to allow your case make bad law. Construction accident lawyers in New York must remember that Labor Law § 240 is not merely a negligence action, and the Labor Laws impose a greater burden on the defendants, because the public policy of protecting workers requires that the statutes in question be construed liberally to afford the appropriate protections to the worker. It is clearly established law in New York that a construction worker who has sustained a personal injury from a fall from a scaffold or ladder cannot be the sole cause of his accident where he followed the directions of his immediate supervisor. Thus the argument that the construction worker disobeyed some general directive is not sufficient to overcome a strong New York labor law 240 case based on a broken or inadequate ladder or scaffold.

Additionally,in a Labor Law § 240 to establish the recalcitrant worker defense, the construction site owner and contractor must establish that plaintiff had adequate safety devices available; that he knew both that they were available and that he was expected to use them; that he chose for no good reason not to do so; and that had he not made that choice he would not have been injured. New York construction lawyers must make sure that Courts continue to strictly enforce these standards, which will prevent the dismissal of lawsuits by injured construction workers.