New York's "Scaffold Law", Labor Law §240(1), is a strict (absolute) liability statute created to protect workers in the field of construction where injuries, or, in some instances, death occur while performing one or more tasks that are elevation related.
Since its inception, the statute has generated substantial case law attempting to interpret and appropriately incorporate its intended purposes in those matters that come within its ambit.
In my article, Language and the Law (NYLJ, April 7, 2020, p.6, col.4), I stated that "we [attorneys and judges] are often called upon to decipher the 'legislative intent' of a statute." This is especially so with respect to Labor Law §240(1). For decades, courts have often struggled with its application to the facts of each case, where the injured plaintiffs invariably seek summary judgment on the issue of liability. As the body of decisional law has shown, there are generally no black and white answers to the issues in question leaving the attorneys and the courts to draw conclusions by sifting through the grey matter with varying results. See Heymann, Scaffold Law: A Defining Moment, NYLJ (June 1, 2018, p.4, col.4)
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