This law is out-dated and serves no one except plaintiff attornies and their clients. It\’s no wonder only two states in the country have one. Workers Compensation was designed to prevent employees from suing employers everytime they were injured. If an employer was grossly negligent, that\’s another matter. I can tell you that having handled these claims for decades, it\’s rarely the case.
Contruction is dangerous work and the employee assumes that risk. Any worker with half a brain would inspect the equipment he is to used to insure it is safe. Ladders rarely \”collapse\” unless they were negligently positioned by an employee…….not the employer. This verdict is dis-proportional and outrageous. The attorney will make about $16.5 million for arguing. The plaintiff won\’t pay a nickel of tax either. Just because someone is injure in an ACCIDENT doesn\’t mean you make him a millionaire.
Amherst is a small town and not blesses with a population of high income residents. It is patently unfair to expose property owners to a tax assessment to enrich this planitiff and his attorney. This illustrates a major defect in our legal system……..a mechanism to apply common sense.
If we assume he is either employed by the roofing company or a sub, there\’s no mention of Work Comp? If it\’s an EL claim, no mention why. If GL, why?
In this case, the obsolete NY Labor Law Section 240 allows for an injured person (as a result of a fall), to attempt to claim negligence against the property owner. And that is exactly what happened… the jobsite owner was successfully sued, and then the owner countersued the contractor that brought the worker to the site. I\’ve actually seen one where an independent, self-employed contractor fell off scaffolding, sued the commercial jobsite owner, who then sued the GC, who then countersued our self-employed contractor. The result? Yep, our contractor actually collected money on HIS OWN contractor\’s liability policy! I agree with Bill Reed…we desperately need legislative relief on this obscure law that is disgusting in how it rapes the innocent to feed an injured person and a fat-cat attorney.
Bill,
Are you kidding me?!?!?!? \”Amherst is a small town and not blesses with a population of high income residents.\” I\’m not sure which is higher in Amherst, the incomes or the noses of the snobs that live there! Not that this has anything to do with the article…
Using an annual salary of a roofer and working until he is 67 his loss of income is about 1,750,000. Assuming that they added the cost of making his home handicap friendly that would add in about another 85-100,000 plus extra medical costs NOT covered my medicare about a cool Mill. After all being disababled he will qualify for disability S.S. & medicare.
Maybe I just can\’t add or my calculator is on the fritz but it just doesn\’t add up.
Yes he was injured and is entitled to \”compensation\” not a superfund settlement.
Bill is 1000% right. Legilation needs to be changed. Too many lawyers getting rich on the pain of an injured person and the greed of a lowly paid person who is looking for the get rich quick retirement plan of a lawsuit.
Now maybe others will see how riduclous 240, 241 are. Those laws stae that if a worker fall from a height (and no where in the laws is the term \”from a height\”) there is absolute liability to the property owner. there was actually a case where a worker fell off an over-turned paint can, surd an won.
The fact that the property owner has no defense at all makes this a most riduclous law. No other states have these laws anymore, but then, I guess no othere states\’ legislatures are as controlled by lawyers as NY.
Do any of you know or care how this injury affects this man? His pain? His change in life? The loss of his life enjoyment? You are typical insurance company hacks. Ledts talk about how much money your friends at insurance companies make. Look at thosae profits.
Your prejudice shows. But what else would you expect from the insurance journals
So where\’s the liability? A ladder collapsed… it happens. Was the ladder manufacturer liable because it was poorly constructed? Was the town liable because the floor was not designed to provide sufficient friction to hold a ladder up? Maybe it\’s God\’s fault because he made the Earth round (not a good surface to stand a ladder on) and spinning. I\’m just tired of the whole, \”I got hurt, it\’s someone else\’s fault because I\’m flawless, and now I\’m going to sue everyone until someone ends up paying\”.
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You do not get it and you never will. Collect premiums and do not pay. You must support the oil companies as well. What is insurance for?
This law is out-dated and serves no one except plaintiff attornies and their clients. It\’s no wonder only two states in the country have one. Workers Compensation was designed to prevent employees from suing employers everytime they were injured. If an employer was grossly negligent, that\’s another matter. I can tell you that having handled these claims for decades, it\’s rarely the case.
Contruction is dangerous work and the employee assumes that risk. Any worker with half a brain would inspect the equipment he is to used to insure it is safe. Ladders rarely \”collapse\” unless they were negligently positioned by an employee…….not the employer. This verdict is dis-proportional and outrageous. The attorney will make about $16.5 million for arguing. The plaintiff won\’t pay a nickel of tax either. Just because someone is injure in an ACCIDENT doesn\’t mean you make him a millionaire.
Amherst is a small town and not blesses with a population of high income residents. It is patently unfair to expose property owners to a tax assessment to enrich this planitiff and his attorney. This illustrates a major defect in our legal system……..a mechanism to apply common sense.
If we assume he is either employed by the roofing company or a sub, there\’s no mention of Work Comp? If it\’s an EL claim, no mention why. If GL, why?
Does this story have holes in it?
In this case, the obsolete NY Labor Law Section 240 allows for an injured person (as a result of a fall), to attempt to claim negligence against the property owner. And that is exactly what happened… the jobsite owner was successfully sued, and then the owner countersued the contractor that brought the worker to the site. I\’ve actually seen one where an independent, self-employed contractor fell off scaffolding, sued the commercial jobsite owner, who then sued the GC, who then countersued our self-employed contractor. The result? Yep, our contractor actually collected money on HIS OWN contractor\’s liability policy! I agree with Bill Reed…we desperately need legislative relief on this obscure law that is disgusting in how it rapes the innocent to feed an injured person and a fat-cat attorney.
I feel sorry for the guy, but that is not the purpose of Work Comp.
I agree with you both. This is obscene. The attorneys will be encouraged by this judgement too, to continue to sue on what should be work comp claims.
Bill,
Are you kidding me?!?!?!? \”Amherst is a small town and not blesses with a population of high income residents.\” I\’m not sure which is higher in Amherst, the incomes or the noses of the snobs that live there! Not that this has anything to do with the article…
Using an annual salary of a roofer and working until he is 67 his loss of income is about 1,750,000. Assuming that they added the cost of making his home handicap friendly that would add in about another 85-100,000 plus extra medical costs NOT covered my medicare about a cool Mill. After all being disababled he will qualify for disability S.S. & medicare.
Maybe I just can\’t add or my calculator is on the fritz but it just doesn\’t add up.
Yes he was injured and is entitled to \”compensation\” not a superfund settlement.
Bill is 1000% right. Legilation needs to be changed. Too many lawyers getting rich on the pain of an injured person and the greed of a lowly paid person who is looking for the get rich quick retirement plan of a lawsuit.
Now maybe others will see how riduclous 240, 241 are. Those laws stae that if a worker fall from a height (and no where in the laws is the term \”from a height\”) there is absolute liability to the property owner. there was actually a case where a worker fell off an over-turned paint can, surd an won.
The fact that the property owner has no defense at all makes this a most riduclous law. No other states have these laws anymore, but then, I guess no othere states\’ legislatures are as controlled by lawyers as NY.
Do any of you know or care how this injury affects this man? His pain? His change in life? The loss of his life enjoyment? You are typical insurance company hacks. Ledts talk about how much money your friends at insurance companies make. Look at thosae profits.
Your prejudice shows. But what else would you expect from the insurance journals
So where\’s the liability? A ladder collapsed… it happens. Was the ladder manufacturer liable because it was poorly constructed? Was the town liable because the floor was not designed to provide sufficient friction to hold a ladder up? Maybe it\’s God\’s fault because he made the Earth round (not a good surface to stand a ladder on) and spinning. I\’m just tired of the whole, \”I got hurt, it\’s someone else\’s fault because I\’m flawless, and now I\’m going to sue everyone until someone ends up paying\”.