Queens is a borough of houses. Two-family homes in Jamaica and South Ozone Park, attached brick rows in Ridgewood, detached colonials in Bayside, bungalows being raised and rebuilt in the Rockaways. Most of the construction work that happens here is not a Manhattan high-rise. It is a roof replacement, a second-story extension, a gut renovation, a new deck. And when a worker falls from a ladder on one of those jobs, the first question a construction accident lawyer in Queens has to answer is different from the one on a tower site: does New York’s Scaffold Law even apply to the homeowner?
This guide explains the rule that decides that question, the one- and two-family dwelling exemption, and what an injured worker on a Queens house renovation can still recover when it applies.
What New York’s Labor Law does for injured construction workers
New York gives construction workers more protection than almost any other state, through three sections of the Labor Law:
- Labor Law § 240(1), the Scaffold Law. Owners and general contractors must furnish scaffolds, hoists, ladders, ropes, braces and other devices that give proper protection against elevation-related hazards. If they do not and a worker falls from a height, or is struck by an object that falls because it was not properly hoisted or secured, liability is absolute. The worker’s own carelessness is not a defense, unless the worker’s conduct was the sole cause of the accident. You can read the statute at the New York State Senate.
- Labor Law § 241(6). Owners and contractors must comply with the specific safety rules in the New York Industrial Code, covering everything from debris on floors to trench shoring to the guarding of power tools. A violation that causes an injury supports a claim, though here comparative fault can reduce the recovery.
- Labor Law § 200. The codification of the common-law duty to provide a safe workplace, which reaches parties that supervised or controlled the work or created the dangerous condition.
Falls remain the leading cause of death in construction nationally, which is why OSHA runs a standing fall-prevention campaign. Section 240(1) exists because the Legislature decided the people who control a job site, not the worker on the ladder, should bear that risk.
The one- and two-family homeowner exemption
Section 240(1) and section 241 both carve out one group: owners of one and two-family dwellings who contract for but do not direct or control the work. The idea is that a homeowner who hires a roofer is not in the construction business and cannot be expected to police fall protection the way a developer can.
Three things about that exemption matter on a Queens job:
1. It protects the homeowner, not the contractor
The exemption belongs to the property owner only. The general contractor that ran the job, and any contractor with the authority to supervise and control the work, still answers under sections 240 and 241. If you were employed by a subcontractor, the general contractor above your employer is usually the defendant. If you were hired directly by the homeowner with no contractor in between, the analysis shifts to who directed the work and whether the homeowner did more than hire and pay.
2. “Direct or control” is about the work, not the paperwork
A homeowner does not lose the exemption by choosing the shingles, walking through the job, or asking when it will be finished. Courts look at whether the owner supervised the method and manner of the work: telling workers how to set up the ladder, supplying the equipment and insisting it be used a certain way, or acting as the de facto foreman. Owners who take on that role can be held to the same standard as a contractor.
3. Three-family houses and mixed-use buildings are not exempt
Queens has tens of thousands of three-family homes, and many two-family houses have a storefront, a home office or a rented commercial space on the ground floor. The exemption applies only to one- and two-family dwellings, and when part of a two-family building is used for business and the work serves that commercial use, the owner can lose the protection. Getting the certificate of occupancy and the actual use of the building right is often the first thing a construction accident lawyer in Queens does in a renovation case.
Workers’ compensation is not the end of the claim
If you were on the job, workers’ compensation pays your medical treatment and a portion of your lost wages regardless of fault. It is also generally your only remedy against your own employer. What it does not pay is compensation for pain and suffering, for the full loss of your earning capacity, or for the effect of a permanent injury on the rest of your life.
That is what the third-party Labor Law claim is for. The property owner (where the exemption does not apply), the general contractor and other subcontractors are not your employer, and a claim against them proceeds alongside the comp case. The comp carrier is repaid out of any recovery, and the rules about settling one claim without the other’s consent are strict, which is one more reason to have both handled together. Immigration status does not bar a Labor Law claim in New York.
Common injuries on Queens renovation sites
- Ladder falls. The single most common renovation injury: an extension ladder that was not footed or tied off, an A-frame used on uneven ground, a ladder that was the wrong tool for the height. See our guide to ladder fall claims under Labor Law 240.
- Roof falls. Steep-slope roofing with no harness or anchor, skylight openings, deteriorated decking.
- Scaffold collapses on brick and stucco work, and pump-jack scaffolds on siding jobs.
- Falling objects: bundles of shingles, masonry, tools dropped from a roof edge with no toe board or netting.
- Electrocution from contact with service lines or improperly de-energized circuits during a gut renovation. Our construction electrocution guide covers those cases.
- Demolition and excavation injuries, including trench and foundation collapses on extensions and basement conversions.
What to do after a construction accident in Queens
- Report the injury to the foreman or contractor the same day and make sure a written incident report exists. Notice to your employer is required within 30 days for workers’ compensation, and the formal claim must be filed within two years.
- Photograph the scene, and especially the ladder, scaffold or opening involved, before it is repaired or removed. Equipment disappears from small job sites fast.
- Get the names of every worker who saw the fall and every company on the site.
- Get medical care immediately and follow through. Gaps in treatment are used against you.
- Do not give a recorded statement to any insurer, and do not sign anything from a contractor, before you have spoken to a lawyer.
- Watch the deadlines. Most Labor Law claims must be filed within three years, but if the owner of the site is the City, NYCHA or the School Construction Authority, a notice of claim is due within 90 days.
How a construction accident lawyer in Queens builds the case
The building itself tells much of the story. The permit and inspection history at the NYC Department of Buildings shows who pulled the permit, what work was authorized and whether the job was cited. The contract between the homeowner and the contractor shows who agreed to supervise the work. OSHA records, the contractor’s insurance certificates, and the equipment itself round out liability. On the damages side, the case is built from the medical record, vocational evidence about the work you can no longer do, and the union or trade wage you were earning.
For a broader look at how these claims work across the region, see our guides to Labor Law 240 and 241 claims on Long Island and high-rise and scaffold injuries in Manhattan.
Frequently asked questions
I fell off a ladder at a private house in Queens. Can I sue the homeowner?
Usually not under the Scaffold Law, if the house is a one- or two-family dwelling and the owner simply hired the contractor. You can, however, pursue the general contractor and any other company that controlled the work, and the homeowner can be liable if they directed the work themselves, if the house has three or more units, or if the work served a commercial use of the property.
I was paid in cash and there was no contract. Do I still have a claim?
Yes. How you were paid does not change whether the Labor Law was violated. It can make identifying the responsible companies harder, which is why photographs, text messages and the names of everyone on the site matter so much.
I was partly at fault. Does that end the case?
Under section 240(1), your own negligence is not a defense unless it was the only cause of the accident. Under sections 241(6) and 200, and in ordinary negligence claims, your share of fault reduces the recovery but does not eliminate it.
Talk to a construction accident lawyer in Queens
Yakov Mushiyev & Associates represents injured construction workers throughout Queens and New York City from our office at 1 Cross Island Plaza in Rosedale. We handle the workers’ compensation claim and the Labor Law claim together, we speak English, Russian and Spanish, and there is no fee unless we win. Call 718.775.3110 or contact us online for a free consultation.
General information, not legal advice. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.