When a property manager hires a contractor, he/she must ensure the working environment is safe – even when the property owner does not direct or supervise the work. A corporate property owner hired a contractor to demolish a building on a property in Hudson Falls, NY. As part of the demolition process, workers utilized ladders to reach elevated areas in the building to remove steel pipes and copper wiring. There was a snow storm overnight that resulted in ice on the floor of the owner’s building that was being demolished. And although the owner was aware of the weather, the owner chose to remove snow and ice from areas on the property other than the building where the workers were doing their job with ladders. The owner took no action to ensure that workers were furnished with devices to prevent ladders from slipping; this violated New York Labor Laws requiring that workers be afforded protection from falls. Predictably, our client’s ladder slipped because he had not been provided with devices to secure the ladder, and he fell to the ground suffering a broken back. Despite the owner’s contention that our client should be 100% responsible for his own actions in working in an unsafe area without availing himself of equipment to make his work area safe, a Warren County jury enforced the New York Labor Law with a verdict in our client’s favor. The trial was presented by Partner Kenneth Fromson.
Winning Serious Injury Lawsuits Since 1959