$750,000 Construction Accident Settlement in Manhattan

No ladders available? His boss told him to stand on a bucket. A five-gallon bucket as a work platform for an elevation task — the kind of shortcut that Labor Law §240 was written to prevent.

Construction Worker Ordered to Stand on a Bucket in Manhattan

Our client was working at a restaurant renovation site near 4th Avenue and East 10th Street in Manhattan, tasked with measuring suction levels in an air duct above the work area. The task required elevation access, but every ladder on site was already in use by other workers. Rather than wait or provide additional equipment, the site supervisor told our client to stand on a five-gallon bucket to reach the duct opening.

The bucket was not designed to support the weight of an adult worker standing on its rim. As our client reached upward to position the measurement tool, the bucket collapsed beneath him. He fell to the concrete floor, landing on his right side. The impact fractured his right ankle — requiring surgical fixation with plates and screws — fractured his right elbow, and caused cervical and lumbar disc herniations along with injuries to both shoulders.

Labor Law Liability for Inadequate Equipment

New York Labor Law §240 requires property owners and general contractors to provide proper safety devices for workers performing tasks at elevation. A five-gallon bucket is not a safety device. It is not designed for elevation work, it is not rated for human weight, and it provides zero stability. Directing a worker to stand on one to perform overhead tasks is a textbook violation of the scaffold law.

Our attorneys documented the supervisor's instruction through witness testimony from coworkers who heard the exchange. We also obtained the contractor's own safety manual, which explicitly prohibited the use of buckets, crates, and improvised platforms as substitutes for ladders and scaffolding. The supervisor ignored the contractor's own written policy because he did not want the crew to 'waste time' waiting for a ladder.

"A bucket is not a ladder. The supervisor knew that — the company's own safety manual says it in plain language. But production schedule pressure overrode worker safety, and our client paid the price. Labor Law §240 holds the property owner strictly liable when a worker is given inadequate equipment and falls." — Andrew Levine, Founding Partner

$750,000 Mediation Recovery for a Manhattan Construction Fall

This $750,000 mediation result covers right ankle surgery and hardware, elbow fracture recovery, cervical and lumbar disc treatment, bilateral shoulder rehabilitation, lost wages, and the permanent limitations our client faces in returning to construction work. It holds the property owner accountable for a supervisor who prioritized speed over safety.

If you were injured on a construction site because your employer failed to provide proper safety equipment, our construction accident attorneys have decades of experience with Labor Law §240 claims and are ready to review your case.