New York Injury Attorneys Blog

As a New York City personal injury attorney, Michael Joseph has represented numerous commercial cleaners and window washers injured in New York City. New York City with its high rise buildings and multi-level commercial buildings sees a higher rate of window washer injuries than Westchester, Long Island and Rockland County. We also see alot of commercial cleaning accidents in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens in the industrial areas, where professional cleaners such as power washers are brought in to do work.

Most window washing accidents are caused by a (i) the ladder slipping, (ii) the flooring or other devices being insufficient to prevent the ladder from sliding, (iii) the lack of a helper to hold the ladder for Plaintiff, (iv) the lack of anchors in the walls for the injured worker to hook into (v) the lack of fall protection including harness or safety lines and (vi) inadequate scaffold systems.

New York's Labor Law 240 protects New York window washers and commercial cleaners. New York's Labor Law 240 is violated if a window washer in New York fell because a ladder was not braced, secured and no one else was holding it or if adequate safety devices to prevent the ladder from slipping or to protect the window washer from falling are not provided. If you are injured in New York because of a violation of Labor Law 240, you can sue for pain, suffering and lost wages in addition to receiving workers compensation benefits.

Our New York window washer injury attorneys will provide you with a free consultation and analysis of your case. We have offices in New York City (Manhattan) and Westchester (White Plains). Our New York window washing injury attorneys have extensive experience in representing injured construction workers, window washers and other professional cleaners in Labor Law 240 claims.

Continue reading "New York Window Washing and Commercial Cleaning Accidents Involving Personal Injuries" »

As a New York Injury Attorney, Michael Joseph is thoroughly familiar with the Labor Laws which protect injured New York Window Washers. An injured window cleaner who falls from an elevated work surface can sue under Labor Law § 202 and Labor Law § 240 (1). The New York Court of Appeals has held that the injured window washer can bring both claims simultaneously.

Among other activities, Labor Law § 240 (1) applies to workers engaged in the "cleaning" of a building. Whether a window's exterior or interior is being cleaned is irrelevant, rather, liability turns on whether a particular window washing task creates an elevation-related risk of the kind that the safety devices listed in Labor Law § 240(1) protects against. The Courts have recognized that Labor Law § 240 applies to window washers who are injured while cleaning a 10-foot-high interior window. Swiderska v. New York University, 10 N.Y.3d 792, 856 N.Y.S.2d 533 (2008).

Labor Law § 240(1) imposes a non-delegable duty upon building owners to furnish proper safety devices and protection in order to ensure the safety of workers exposed to elevation-related risks. Jamil v. Concourse Enters., 740 N.Y.S.2d 308, 310 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dept. 2002).

A building owner who fails to provide adequate safety devices required by Labor Law §240 is absolutely liable in damages for injuries which are proximately caused by the breach. Labor Law §240(1) liability is contingent upon the existence of a hazard contemplated in section 240(1) and the failure to use, or the inadequacy of, a safety device enumerated therein.

Where a ladder does not prevent plaintiff from falling and no safety devices, other than the ladder, are provided, defendants have violated Labor Law §240. Deng v. A.J. Contr. Co., 680 N.Y.S.2d 223 (N.Y.A.D. 1 Dep't. 1998).

A worker's contributory negligence is not a defense to a Labor Law §240 cause of action. It is irrelevant whether plaintiff's ladder tipped because plaintiff lost his balance or whether plaintiff fell off the ladder without it having tipped at all, because plaintiff's negligence irrelevant. In other words, if safety devices which would have prevented plaintiff's fall were not provided, plaintiff is entitled to summary judgement. The failure to provide a ladder which is secured against movement is a violation of Labor Law §240 per se.

Labor Law § 202 states that the owner of every public building and every contractor involved shall provide such safe means for the cleaning of the widows and of exterior surfaces of such building as may be required and approved by the Industrial Board of Appeals. Labor Law § 202 further states that the owners shall not permit or allow any window to be cleaned unless such means are provided to enable such work to be done in a safe manner for the prevention of accidents and for the protection of the public and of persons engaged in such work in conformity with the requirements of this chapter and the rules of the Industrial Board of Appeals. 12 N.Y.C.R.R. 21.3(B)(2) requires building owners to have structural features and anchors or other fixed devices for the worker's protection prior to allowing any person to clean a window.
Injured window washers in New York have powerful legal rights to force building owners to compensate them for their injuries.