$400,000 Settlement: Scaffold Collapse Injures Construction Worker During Sheetrock Installation

A 27-year-old construction worker was part of a crew installing sheetrock at a new hotel under construction in Westchester County. On April 24, 2014, he climbed a scaffold roughly six feet off the ground to press sheetrock against a wall while a coworker steadied the base. The scaffold opened beneath him without warning. He fell straight to the floor and landed on his left foot and ankle.

Emergency room X-rays initially showed only an ankle sprain, but follow-up MRIs revealed a fracture. The worker used crutches for two months after the initial fall. In August 2015, he underwent surgery on the left ankle and returned to crutches for the following year.

The firm pursued the property owner, construction manager, and subcontractors under New York's scaffold law, which holds parties responsible when a scaffold fails during ordinary work at height. The firm filed for summary judgment on liability, arguing the collapse was precisely the type of failure the statute addresses.

The defense filed a cross-motion asking the court to find no liability. Their primary support was the testimony of a supervisor who arrived at the scene after the scaffold had already collapsed. Adam Moses Orlow, the firm's Senior Trial Partner, argued that a witness who was not present during the accident cannot testify to what caused it. The supervisor's account of what might have happened and what the worker could have done differently was speculation, not evidence, and the court treated it accordingly.

With liability established on that footing, the case proceeded to mediation. The firm recovered $400,000.