Can I Sue If I Fell Off a Ladder at a Single-Family Home in New York?

A homeowner hired me to do some roofing repairs on a two-family house in Staten Island. The ladder they gave me slipped, and I fell, breaking my leg. Can I hold the homeowner responsible under the New York Scaffold Law?

The Short Answer: It Depends on the “Method and Manner” of the Work

In New York, Labor Law § 240(1) the Court holds commercial property owners and general contractors strictly liable when a construction worker suffers a gravity-related fall. This law applies due to unsafe ladders, scaffolding, or hoists.

However, when it comes to residential properties, New York law carves out a massive exception. This is known as the One- and Two-Family Dwelling Exemption.

If you are injured while working on a single-family home or a duplex, the homeowner is automatically shielded from strict liability. However, the key is that you are only protected unless you can prove that the owner stepped across the line and actively directed or controlled the work.

How New York Courts Evaluate the Homeowner Exemption

Like so many residential construction accidents today, it came down to a strict legal test: Did the homeowner act like a normal, concerned property owner, or did they act like a de facto project superintendent?

Under New York law, the homeowner’s exemption is strictly construed in favor of the property owner. As established by the New York Court of Appeals in Cannon v. Putnam, 76 NY2d 644 (1990), a homeowner does not lose their legal protection simply by exercising general supervision. Also, they do not lose protection just by checking in on the daily progress of the job.

Furthermore, New York courts have repeatedly held that a homeowner is still entitled to the exemption even if they take the following actions:

  • Making design decisions or demanding rework. Requesting changes based on aesthetic preferences or demanding a job be redone does not constitute legal direction or control (Affri v. Basch, 13 NY3d 592 (2009); Jonchuk v. Weafer, 199 AD2d 591 [3d Dept 1993]).

  • Handling logistics. Securing architectural plans, obtaining building permits, or purchasing materials are insufficient to create a question of fact on the issue of control (Lane v. Karian, 210 AD2d 549 [3d Dept 1994]; Peck v. Szwarcberg, 122 AD3d 1216 [3d Dept 2014]).
  • Acting as their own general contractor. Even naming oneself as the general contractor on a building permit application and paying subcontractors directly will not defeat the exemption (Snyder v. Gnall, 57 AD3d 1289 [3d Dept 2008]).

To break the homeowner’s exemption, your lawyer must prove that the owner significantly participated in the project. Moreover, they must show that the owner crossed the line into managing the physical method and manner of your specific tasks.

Crossing the Line Into “Direction and Control”

A homeowner can be held fully liable under the Scaffold Law if they cross the line into de facto supervision. Under the standard set in Valentin v. Thirty-Four Square Corp., 227 AD2d 467 (2d Dept 1996), courts look for specific evidence. Namely, courts check if the owner supervised the actual method of the work or provided the necessary equipment.

We look for key legal triggers to break the exemption:

  1. Providing the Defective Equipment. The exemption may be defeated if the owner actively assembled, placed, or instructed you to use a specific, unsafe ladder or scaffold (Ramirez v. I.G.C. Wall Systems, Inc., 140 AD3d 1047 [2d Dept 2016]).

  2. Dictating the Method of Work. Liability attaches if the owner gave specific instructions regarding the physical manner in which the injured worker had to perform their tasks (Ennis v. Hayes, 152 AD2d 914 [4th Dept 1989]).

  3. Hiring an Incompetent Agent. The homeowner’s exemption cannot protect an agent or supervisor to whom the owner delegated the authority to direct and control the job site (Fisher v. Coghlan, 8 AD3d 974 [4th Dept 2004]).

What You Should Do Next

These claims are highly fact-specific and require an experienced legal eye to review the details of the property’s use and the owner’s involvement. In your case, the homeowner supplied the ladder which caused the accident. So there is a good chance the Labor Law will protect you. But did you ask to borrow the ladder? Did you or the homeowner set up the ladder? There are at least a dozen more questions that you would need to answer before I can give you a definite answer.

By James Santner, Esq.

Contact Minchew & Santner, LLP today for a comprehensive, free evaluation of your case.