N.Y. Group: Scaffold Law Will Consume Billions From Public Projects Spending

January 25, 2016

  • January 26, 2016 at 1:25 pm
    BKG says:
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    A prudent author would explain how other states deal with the liability. Not so, here.

  • January 26, 2016 at 1:49 pm
    B Smith says:
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    This law does not keep workers safe. Companies with good management culture and workers who are supportive and conscientious keep jobsites safe. In todays litigating gamesmanship the law has become a utopia for lawyers to make ridiculous demands on the insurance companies of the contractors and argue strict liability without contribution from the injured party. Back in 1885 it may have been needed, in 2016 it’s just a way to drive up settlement demands and costs of doing business in NY. No other state has this law and are in many cases safer than NY… this law does not make NY the safest place to work in the US just one of the most expensive places to do business.

  • January 26, 2016 at 2:12 pm
    V says:
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    Both Democratic and Republican parties/gangs are owned by the plaintiff trial lawyers, who get campaign contributions/bribes from them, and the labor unions. This racket has worked well for all of them for decades and will not be changed.

  • January 26, 2016 at 2:50 pm
    agent2 says:
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    This is a joke. Politicians and committee members deciding what makes workplaces safe. Some lawyer some years ago must have discovered that using this ancient law could yield a fortune. Just like Facebook making a kid a multibillionaire. It serves no purpose.

  • January 26, 2016 at 4:30 pm
    Eli Mishanie says:
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    Labor Laws started out prior to Workers’ Compensation in the 1800’s. Workers’ Compensation was then introduced around 1914 and was supposed to be sole remedy as well as to eliminate most lawsuits. Instead, labor laws are continuously being abused and are now the “goose that laid the golden eggs” for attorneys. Construction costs outside of NY average $100 to $200 per foot while Manhattan is now reaching $750 to $1,000 per foot due to higher insurance rates as a direct relationship to the archaic labor laws. Small contractors can no longer afford to bid on jobs since they can no longer afford the insurance that the building owners and general contractors mandate. Therefore, you have less competition resulting in even higher construction costs. Wake up New York!

  • January 26, 2016 at 7:34 pm
    Rusty says:
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    If OSHA has to rely on the scaffold law to keep workers safe, they must not be doing a very good job themselves in NY. No other state has this law which predates Workers Compensation because, like NY, they all have Workers Compensation laws that provide benefits for inured workers. Unlike NY, however, they all scrapped their scaffolding laws after implementing their Workers Compensation laws. After all, why should gravity-related injuries receive preferential treatment? The only reason the scaffolding law remains in NY State is because the legislature is full of attorneys whose campaigns are funded by fellow attorneys and who do not want to destroy this lucrative source of fee income for themselves and their compatriots – income that is so easily earned because the law is a strict liability law, and there is no defense. Thus, liability for such injuries doesn’t even have to be proved! It’s a home run for plaintiff (and defense) attorneys because all that has to be done in court is a decision on how much to award the plaintiff (and the plaintiff attorney). There is no rational reason for this law to remain and it only makes the state non-competitive for a lot of enterprises.

  • January 27, 2016 at 6:01 pm
    R says:
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    I work in a state that is as far from NY geographically as it is politically – Texas. The former AG stated his job was to come to work, sue the federal government, and go home.

    As for construction costs, my employer has built 8 new buildings in the last 5 years, our costs ranged form a low of $250 per sq. ft. (renovation) to $325 per sq. ft. new construction.

    As for scaffolds keeping job sites safe – B Smith is correct that company management and commitment keeps work sites safe. If all companies had the total commitment to build it right and keep workers and the public safe – we would all be out of work. The fact that we have a large commercial property/casualty sector is because the companies with the complete commitment are few and far between.

    As for these critics of this law – if they will go and stand under the scaffold at any job site for a week with no protective equipment and then state the law it outdated, I will consider their position. Until then, IMHO, they are a group of companies looking to cut costs by cutting corners on worker and public safety.

    CSP, ARM 35 years in the business.



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