Fell From a Ladder at Work in New York? When the Scaffold Law May Apply

In one week in October 2026, New York appeals courts decided three cases about workers who fell from a ladder or a scaffold. In all three, the worker won on liability under Labor Law § 240(1), known as the Scaffold Law. The decisions show how the law works when a ladder moves, slips, or comes loose.

What the Scaffold Law Requires

Labor Law § 240(1) says that "[a]ll contractors and owners and their agents," with an exception for some homeowners, "in the erection, demolition, repairing, altering, painting, cleaning or pointing of a building or structure shall furnish or erect" scaffolding, ladders, and other devices "which shall be so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection to a person so employed" (Labor Law § 240(1)). The exception covers "owners of one and two-family dwellings who contract for but do not direct or control the work."

The duty falls on owners and contractors. That matters, because an injured worker can bring a workers' compensation claim, but in most cases cannot sue the employer (Workers' Compensation Law § 11). A Scaffold Law claim can be brought against the property owner and the contractors on the job, which may be companies other than the injured worker's employer. Our post on how construction workers can pursue compensation explains more.

A Fall Alone Is Not Enough

The worker must show that the law was violated and that the violation helped cause the injury. The Court of Appeals has said that "an accident alone does not establish a Labor Law § 240 (1) violation or causation" (Blake v Neighborhood Hous. Servs. of N.Y. City, 1 NY3d 280 [2003]). In Blake itself, the worker lost: the jury found that his extension ladder gave him proper protection, and the court concluded that his own conduct "was the sole proximate cause of the accident."

For ladders, the Second Department restated the rule in October 2026: "liability will be imposed when the evidence shows that the subject ladder was . . . inadequately secured and that . . . the failure to secure the ladder, was a substantial factor in causing the plaintiff's injuries" (Soutar v City of New York, 2026 NY Slip Op 05986, *2 [2d Dept Oct. 14, 2026], quoting an earlier decision).

Three October Decisions

A ladder that moved. In De Souza v 4720 Third Ave LLC (1st Dept Oct. 13, 2026), a worker was removing plywood sheets from a ceiling while standing on an A-frame ladder when a falling piece of plywood struck the ladder. He showed "that he fell from an unsecured [eight]-foot A-frame ladder that suddenly moved" (quoting an earlier decision). The testimony differed on whether he was on the sixth step or the second, but the court held that it did not matter, because "a fall from a height of two feet can constitute the type of elevation-related risk that is covered by the protections of Labor Law § 240(1)" (2026 NY Slip Op 05905, *1).

A ladder that came loose. In Soutar, a worker installing air conditioning units at a Brooklyn fire station under renovation fell backward when an outside ladder he was climbing came unbolted from the wall. The court held that "the fact that the plaintiff had used the same ladder several times that day without incident was insufficient to refute the plaintiff's testimony that the ladder was unstable at the time of the accident" (2026 NY Slip Op 05986, *2), and it affirmed summary judgment for the worker on liability.

A scaffold that moved. In Latazela v Compass Six Owner LLC (1st Dept Oct. 15, 2026), a worker laying concrete blocks from a plank on top of a scaffold fell "approximately 11 to 12 feet to the concrete floor below" when the scaffold moved, and he testified that "there were no designated anchor points he could tie his harness off to." The court held that the height of the fall and "the lack of proper anchor points or guardrails on the scaffold" implicated the Labor Law's protections (2026 NY Slip Op 06009, *1).

A Worker's Own Carelessness Is Not a Defense

If the ladder or scaffold failed to give proper protection, the worker's own carelessness does not defeat the claim. As the Court of Appeals put it in Blake, "contributory negligence will not exonerate a defendant who has violated the statute," and "if a statutory violation is a proximate cause of an injury, the plaintiff cannot be solely to blame for it." A defendant may still argue that the worker's own conduct was the sole cause, as the jury found in Blake. But under the rule just quoted, that argument fails when a violation of the statute was also a cause.

In our experience, the ladder itself, and who supplied it, can become central evidence, and a ladder can disappear from a job site before anyone looks at it.

Not Every Job Is Covered

The Scaffold Law covers only the kinds of work it lists. In Neil v Areeba, Inc. (2d Dept Oct. 14, 2026), a porter who said he was hurt by loose plywood could not add a Scaffold Law claim. Of the statute's list of covered work, the court said, "[t]his definition excludes routine maintenance" (2026 NY Slip Op 05963, *2). But the court also noted that the Scaffold Law "is not limited to work performed on actual construction sites," and it allowed the porter to add a claim under Labor Law § 200, whose protection "is not confined to construction work but covers all places to which the Labor Law applies" (id.). Labor Law § 241(6), which depends on specific Industrial Code rules, may also apply; our post on OSHA and other code violations explains more.

What to Do After a Fall at Work

1. Get medical care, and follow your doctor's advice.
2. Report the injury to your employer in writing. Workers' compensation law requires written notice "within thirty days after the accident causing such injury" (Workers' Compensation Law § 18).
3. If your medical condition allows, photograph the ladder or scaffold where it stood, what it was resting on or tied to, and the floor below, or ask a coworker to do it.
4. Write down the names and phone numbers of witnesses, who supplied the ladder or scaffold, and who was directing the work.
5. Ask that the ladder or scaffold be kept as it was. Evidence that is thrown away or repaired can be lost for good; see our Decision Day entry on Fernandez v Port Authority about lost evidence.
6. Talk to a lawyer early. The general deadline to sue for a personal injury is three years (CPLR 214(5)). But if the property belongs to the City or another public entity, as the fire station in Soutar did, a Notice of Claim generally must be served within 90 days (General Municipal Law § 50-e). In some circumstances, your time to act may be even shorter.

If you were hurt in a fall at work, contact The Eskesen Law Firm for a free consultation. Calls are answered live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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