$2,775,000 Settlement for Client with Severe Ankle Fracture After Ladder Fall

Partners Stephen J. Murphy and David L. Scher, along with Associate Aaron Fishkin, settled the Labor Law case for a 27-year-old construction worker.

Court and County

Bronx County, Supreme Court

Unsafe Ladder Set-Up Causes Construction Worker Fall

Our client, who was 27 years old at the time of the accident, was finishing up miscellaneous tasks at a construction site he had been working on for many months. One of those tasks involved caulking parts of the building exterior.

To reach the area that needed to be caulked, our client grabbed the only extension ladder on site and set it up against the exterior wall. Unfortunately, a fire escape near the caulking location made it difficult for our client to properly position the ladder. He eventually had to place it at a much shallower angle than usual to accommodate this obstruction. No other ladders or safety devices were available, and no other workers were on site to hold the ladder while our client worked.

As our client was finishing up caulking the area, he began to descend the ladder when it suddenly slipped out from under him. He fell approximately 8 feet, with his right foot getting stuck in one of the rungs as he fell. He landed on his back, on top of the ladder, with immediate excruciating pain coming from his foot.

Our client was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery to repair the compound fracture in his ankle. The widespread damage to bone and tissue meant our client would require two follow-up surgeries to further clean the wound and stabilize the joint as it healed. To this day, he continues to experience lingering pain and stiffness related to his injuries.

Using Labor Law 240(1) to Establish Liability in Ladder Fall Cases

From the outset of the case, attorneys Stephen J. Murphy, David L. Scher, and Aaron R. Fishkin planned to use New York Labor Law 240(1) to help establish liability. Labor Law 240(1) protects workers from gravity-related accidents by requiring property owners and general contractors to provide safety equipment that mitigates height-related risks. In this instance, the lack of additional safety equipment to prevent our client’s fall violated the law.

The defense was not so inclined to agree. They contended that our client was the sole cause of the accident, because he had positioned the ladder haphazardly to avoid the fire escape. The defendants also noted that our client had recovered well enough to return to construction work after the accident.

To counter these claims, our attorneys hired a construction liability expert to analyze the accident. That expert argued that the angle of the ladder didn’t matter – a ladder should never have been used to perform the work in the first place. Because caulking requires two hands, our client would not have been able to maintain three points of contact with the ladder. Instead, he should have been provided with scaffolding to complete the project safely.

Through careful inspection of the ladder and accident scene, our attorneys also found that the ladder lacked rubber grips on the bottom, making it more prone to slipping and falling.

This evidence helped establish liability against the defendants and enabled our attorneys to settle the case, securing the full available compensation for their client’s accident. Though our client made a strong recovery, he should have never had to endure the physical, emotional, and financial pain inflicted by the accident. Our attorneys hope the result brings him a measure of peace and stability.

Settlement Amount

The case settled for $2,775,000.

Handling Attorneys

Associate Aaron Fishkin handled the case with Partners Stephen J. Murphy and David L. Scher.