Hard Hats & Justice Episode 1

Maria's Fall and the Scaffolding Law That Stands Between Workers and Ruin

In today's episode of Hard Hats and Justice, host Chris Gorayeb tells the story of Maria, a 41 year old single mother and laborer in Midtown Manhattan who climbed onto a sidewalk bridge on a Monday morning and stepped onto a rotten ocean plank that gave way beneath her. She fell 20 feet, struck her back on a cross brace before hitting the ground, fractured multiple thoracic vertebrae, and was rendered paraplegic. Her employer initially denied she even worked for the company, blocking her access to workers' compensation until Gorayeb and Associates intervened to secure her benefits and file suit against the building owner and general contractor for failing to provide a lifeline, a harness, or safe planking.

This episode of Hard Hats and Justice uses Maria's story to introduce the New York Scaffolding Law, a more than century old statute unique to the state that holds building owners and general contractors strictly responsible for gravity related injuries on job sites. Chris cites sobering figures: 30 construction workers killed in New York City in 2023, 39 percent of construction deaths caused by falls, and a 75 percent chance of sustaining a serious disabling injury over a 35 year career in the trade. He warns that ongoing efforts by insurance companies and real estate interests to repeal or weaken the law would leave thousands of injured workers with nowhere to turn, and he explains that construction workers typically have two cases after an accident: a workers' compensation claim and a third party action against the owner and contractor that can cover medical bills, lost earnings, and pain.

New York Construction Accident Lawyers

If your accident happened on a construction site, a demolition job, a scaffold, a roof, or because an owner, general contractor, or other party failed to keep the site safe, do not wait for paperwork, missing evidence, or an early insurance offer to shape your case.