DESIGNER MOCKUP · amparolawfirm.com homepage · brand tokens locked · placeholder photography
DESIGNER MOCKUP · amparolawfirm.com homepage · brand tokens locked · placeholder photography
The cases come in patterns: tool drops, material falls, form failures, debris during demolition, crane and hoist load drops, window and glass falls, and falling overhead structures.
§240 equally protects workers struck by falling objects. For a falling object case: (1) the object fell while being hoisted, secured, or stored; (2) the object required securing because of the work being performed; (3) adequate protective devices were either not provided or were inadequate. If those elements are met, §240’s absolute liability applies.
The chain of liability typically includes the property owner, general contractor, the subcontractor whose work produced the falling object, the rigger or hoist operator if the object fell during a lift, and equipment manufacturers in product liability claims.
Falling object injuries include traumatic brain injuries, skull fractures, cervical spine injuries, crush injuries to limbs, lacerations, internal organ injuries, eye injuries, and fatal injuries.
Steps after a falling object accident: get medical care, tell the doctor what hit you, report the accident in writing, photograph the object and scene, get witness names, save your hard hat, call a lawyer before signing anything.
Damages include medical, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of consortium, wrongful death. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Falling object cases turn on operational details: the hoisting plan, the exclusion zone, storage of materials, pace of demolition, and prior incidents. These are operational questions a developer asks first.
In a typical negligence case, the defense will argue your case down with comparative-fault arguments — that you weren’t paying attention, that you took a shortcut, that you should have known better. Under §240, those arguments generally cannot defeat the claim. That is why §240 cases tend to settle higher and earlier than negligence-only construction cases.
