$710,000 Ladder Fall Settlement in Manhattan

The ladder gave way and our client hit the ground. A fall that took seconds caused injuries that required surgery and months of recovery — injuries the property owner is strictly liable for under New York law.

Ladder Fall at a Manhattan Job Site

Our client was using a ladder to perform work at a Manhattan job site when the ladder became unstable and he fell to the ground. The fall caused impact injuries to multiple areas of the body, including fractures and spinal disc damage that required surgical intervention. He was transported from the site for emergency treatment and ultimately underwent procedures to repair the fractures and address the spinal injuries.

The recovery was extended and complex. Multiple injuries required separate treatment timelines, overlapping rehabilitation programs, and a prolonged period away from work. The physical limitations from the fall prevented our client from returning to the type of construction and manual labor work he had performed for years before the accident.

Labor Law Liability for an Unsafe Ladder

New York Labor Law §240 requires property owners and general contractors to provide workers with safe, properly secured ladders and other elevation devices. When a ladder is defective, improperly placed, unsecured, or otherwise unsafe, and a worker falls as a result, the property owner bears strict liability for the injuries — regardless of the worker's own actions.

Our attorneys investigated the ladder conditions at the time of the fall, documenting deficiencies in how the ladder was set up, secured, and maintained. Witness testimony from coworkers confirmed that the ladder had not been properly footed or braced, and that no one on site had inspected it before our client climbed it. The contractor had no written ladder safety protocol for the project — a gap that left workers to make their own judgments about equipment that was supposed to protect them.

"Labor Law §240 is clear — the property owner must provide safe equipment for workers at height. A ladder that isn't properly secured is not safe equipment. Our client trusted that the ladder on the job site would hold him. The contractor never inspected it, never secured it, and never trained anyone on proper ladder setup. The property owner is strictly liable for that failure." — Howard Raphaelson, Founding Partner

$710,000 Settlement for a Manhattan Ladder Fall

This $710,000 settlement covers fracture repair surgery, spinal treatment, extensive rehabilitation, lost wages, and the permanent physical limitations that prevent our client from returning to construction work. It holds the property owner accountable for a ladder that was never inspected or properly secured.

If you fell from a ladder at a job site due to unsafe conditions, our construction accident attorneys have decades of experience with Labor Law §240 ladder fall claims and are ready to review your case.