Significance New York is the only state in the nation with a scaffold law imposing strict liability on contractors for worker injuries resulting from falls. The law was enacted in 1885 to protect people working at great heights in the skyscrapers of New York City. It requires that employers look out for their safety or face lawsuits. The law was amended through the years to ease the legal burdens on plaintiffs and limit defenses for employers, to the point where many now consider the law a slam-dunk for injured workers who sue. Employers are often held liable for falls despite any misconduct or mistakes by workers, from failure to use a safety device or even showing up for work drunk. The question is not whether employers will pay but how much. Impact Liability insurance costs much more in New York than elsewhere, and sometimes businesses can't get insurance at all. This pushes up costs not only for builders and contractors but also for homebuyers and other consumers. The state Builders Association estimates that higher liability insurance costs related to the Scaffold Law add $10,000 to the cost of a house in Buffalo, $7,000 to one on Long Island and $6,000 to one in Albany. Many insurance companies have stopped providing contractors with liability insurance, and those that still do have jacked up premiums by 300 to 600 percent. It's yet another high cost of doing business in New York that makes us uncompetitive with other states.
Solutions Juries should be allowed to consider whether an employee's own negligence caused the fall and subsequent injury and to reduce the amount of damages awarded the worker by the percentage of fault attributable to the worker. Such a rule would apply only to cases of "recalcitrant" workers, including those who failed to use safety devices, did not comply with safety training or were injured as the result of alcohol or drug impairment or while committing a crime. This common-sense approach strikes a fairer balance between protecting worker safety and allowing employers to defend themselves against lawsuits.