Death And Liability

Originally published in Habitat Magazine in June 2017.

A CONTRACTOR DIES on the job. Who's liable?

When shareholders perform work in their apartments, the concept is that the shareholder assumes all risk and liability in connection with that work. In other words, the coopera¬tive corporation is not responsible for any damage or injury. Those principles are embedded in alteration agreements.

However, there are certain statutes, such as Labor Law Section 240, com¬monly known as the "Scaffold Law," that make building owners liable for certain construction injuries, regard¬less of the owner's actual involve¬ment in the work. And even though a cooperative corporation is not a tradi¬tional building owner, these laws do apply and a cooperative will be held liable. Importantly, contributory neg¬ligence doesn't count. So, if a worker is partly at fault, it cannot be used to defend the claim.