$900,000 Ladder Fall Settlement in Manhattan

At a construction site on West 29th Street in Manhattan, a worker climbed a ladder that had been placed on an uneven surface without stabilization — when the base shifted, there was nothing to prevent the fall.

Ladder Fall at a Manhattan Construction Site

The job site at 601 West 29th Street required workers to access elevated areas using portable ladders. On the day of the accident, the ladder assigned to our client was placed on an uneven concrete surface with loose debris underneath. No one secured the base. No one held the ladder. No safety harness or tie-off point was provided.

When our client reached the midpoint of the ladder, the base shifted on the uneven ground. The ladder kicked out from beneath them, and our client fell approximately 12 feet to the concrete floor below. The fall fractured the left ankle, tore the meniscus in the right knee, and caused a compression fracture in the lower spine.

Labor Law §240(1) Strict Liability in Manhattan

New York's scaffold law — Labor Law §240(1) — imposes strict liability on building owners and general contractors who fail to provide proper fall protection to construction workers. In this case, the violations were straightforward: no secured ladder base, no spotter, no harness, no alternative elevated access equipment. Our attorneys filed against both the general contractor and the property owner, establishing that neither party provided the safety equipment the law requires.

"A ladder on loose debris without anyone securing the base — that's not a construction site, that's a trap. Labor Law §240 exists precisely for situations like this, and the $900,000 settlement reflects the severity of injuries that proper fall protection would have prevented entirely." — Dario Martinez, Attorney

$900,000 Settlement for a West 29th Street Ladder Fall

The $900,000 settlement compensates our client for ankle surgery, knee repair, spinal treatment, months of lost construction wages, and the permanent physical limitations that affect their ability to return to the trade. It holds the parties who controlled the job site responsible for the safety failures that caused this preventable fall.

If you fell from a ladder or scaffolding at a New York construction site, our ladder accident attorneys have extensive experience with Labor Law §240 claims, and are ready to review your claim.