NEW YORK, N.Y., September 9, 2003 -- The New York State Legislature is moving to overhaul the state's controversial Labor Law 240 as a way of easing an insurance crisis in the building and construction industry.
Reform measures have been introduced in both houses in Albany, and are gaining support.
Here's how the crisis developed:
A construction worker is injured in a fall off a scaffold or ladder.
Even if the worker's negligence contributed to causing the accident - the contractors and building owners and their agents are liable for the accident and the potentially huge damage awards that follow.
This happens with regularity only in New York State. Nowhere else in America is this "absolute liability" statute interpreted virtually all the time against the owners and general contractors.
The provision is embodied in New York's highly controversial Labor Law Section 240.
Even if the injury occurred while the worker was impaired by alcohol or drugs, or declined to use safety equipment, or even if the contractor or building owner or their agents had nothing to do with the day-to-operations at the site - the owners/contractors are still saddled with "absolute liability." The bottom line: The employee is virtually guaranteed to win in court. The only question is how big the award will be.
Throughout New York, the consistent application of the "absolute liability" statute by the courts has led or contributed to the worst insurance crisis in the industry in years.
Some contractors, according to the General Building Contractors of New York State, have seen their premiums soar by more than 300%..
There are some insurance companies that have virtually stopped writing liability insurance for the state's construction industry, while others have begun to exclude coverage for claims under Sections 240 (1), the GBC reports.
And some contracting business are shutting down altogether.
The soaring costs are being passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices for new construction, renovation and repairs. Even homeowners who hire contractors to do work on their dwellings are liable.
Legal defenses against Section 240 almost always fail. But one recent notable exception is drawing special attention - the victory by attorney William J. Smith of Lifflander, Reich & Smith, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York City.
The case (Meade v. Rock-McGraw, Inc., et al) centered around a journeyman carpenter injured while replacing ceiling tiles in the hallway closet of a Midtown office building.
According to court papers, the carpenter determined that a six-foot ladder he had been using was too big, and he retrieved a five-foot, wooden A-frame ladder which he said was in good working order. The carpenter positioned the latter against the closet wall in the closed position and climbed to the third step, took both hands off the ladder and began to work when the ladder slid out from under him and he fell to the floor and sustained injury, according to the court papers.
Normally, in such cases, it was an automatic slam-dunk for the plaintiff.
But Smith, whose law firm specializes in tort defense, construction site accident litigation,product liability, employment discrimination, insurance coverage and commercial litigation, and represents a substantial number of building owners and contractors, an hotel owners and operators, was successful in convincing the appellate court to take a long hard look at the issues.
Reform measures have been introduced in both houses in Albany, and are gaining support.
Here's how the crisis developed:
A construction worker is injured in a fall off a scaffold or ladder.
Even if the worker's negligence contributed to causing the accident - the contractors and building owners and their agents are liable for the accident and the potentially huge damage awards that follow.
This happens with regularity only in New York State. Nowhere else in America is this "absolute liability" statute interpreted virtually all the time against the owners and general contractors.
The provision is embodied in New York's highly controversial Labor Law Section 240.
Even if the injury occurred while the worker was impaired by alcohol or drugs, or declined to use safety equipment, or even if the contractor or building owner or their agents had nothing to do with the day-to-operations at the site - the owners/contractors are still saddled with "absolute liability." The bottom line: The employee is virtually guaranteed to win in court. The only question is how big the award will be.
Throughout New York, the consistent application of the "absolute liability" statute by the courts has led or contributed to the worst insurance crisis in the industry in years.
Some contractors, according to the General Building Contractors of New York State, have seen their premiums soar by more than 300%..
There are some insurance companies that have virtually stopped writing liability insurance for the state's construction industry, while others have begun to exclude coverage for claims under Sections 240 (1), the GBC reports.
And some contracting business are shutting down altogether.
The soaring costs are being passed onto consumers in the form of higher prices for new construction, renovation and repairs. Even homeowners who hire contractors to do work on their dwellings are liable.
Legal defenses against Section 240 almost always fail. But one recent notable exception is drawing special attention - the victory by attorney William J. Smith of Lifflander, Reich & Smith, 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York City.
The case (Meade v. Rock-McGraw, Inc., et al) centered around a journeyman carpenter injured while replacing ceiling tiles in the hallway closet of a Midtown office building.
According to court papers, the carpenter determined that a six-foot ladder he had been using was too big, and he retrieved a five-foot, wooden A-frame ladder which he said was in good working order. The carpenter positioned the latter against the closet wall in the closed position and climbed to the third step, took both hands off the ladder and began to work when the ladder slid out from under him and he fell to the floor and sustained injury, according to the court papers.
Normally, in such cases, it was an automatic slam-dunk for the plaintiff.
But Smith, whose law firm specializes in tort defense, construction site accident litigation,product liability, employment discrimination, insurance coverage and commercial litigation, and represents a substantial number of building owners and contractors, an hotel owners and operators, was successful in convincing the appellate court to take a long hard look at the issues.
