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Unfortunately, accidents often occur on construction sites and other work places in Buffalo and other parts of Western New York, severely injuring or killing workers through no fault of their own. Thankfully, New York Labor Law provides protection to workers under sections 200, 240 and 241. New York Labor Law 200 places a duty on owners and contractors to provide a safe “place to work”.
Owners and/or contractors must ensure the workplace is constructed, equipped, arranged, operated and conducted in a manner that provides reasonable and adequate protection to the health and safety of all workers and other people lawfully on the construction site or workplace.
Labor Law 200 also requires that all machinery, equipment, and devices be placed, operated, guarded, and lighted to provide reasonable and adequate protection to those same workers and individuals on the construction site or workplace. This requirement can also include tools and other “appliances” that are necessary to make the workplace function properly for its intended purpose.
There are many locations that constitute a “place to work” under Labor Law 200, for which owners and/or contractors must provide health and safety protection. What is considered a “place to work” has changed and expanded over the years of litigation, but generally the determination is analyzed based on the facts involving the work being performed and the events surrounding the work.
To hold owners and/or contractors responsible for not providing a safe place to work, the injured party must prove that the owner(s) and/or contractor(s) had actual or constructive “notice” of the dangerous condition which caused the accident and injuries, and that they did not warn the injured worker of the condition(s).
Actual notice means that the owner(s) and/or contractor(s) were directly or specifically aware of the dangerous condition prior to the accident and injuries. This may be proven through evidence of prior written complaints, photographs and/or testimony in the case establishing the prior knowledge of the dangerous condition that caused the injury.
Constructive notice means the owner(s) and/or contractor(s) could or should have known about the dangerous condition if they took reasonable steps to make inspections to detect dangerous conditions on the property. An owner and/or contractor does not have a duty to warn workers about conditions, including defects, risks or dangers, that are easily observable by the use of the worker’s senses; taking into account the age, intelligence and experience of the worker.
Any claim made by an injured worker under the various New York Labor Law provisions will be legally complex and extremely fact specific. This is why It is imperative to call an experienced New York Labor Law attorney as soon as possible following your construction or workplace injury, so a prompt and thorough investigation can be conducted.
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With over 25 years of combined personal injury experience, our co-founding attorneys, John E. Richmond and Keith R. Vona, have helped injury victims and their family members recover more than $150 million in financial relief.
