Daniel R. Santola's letter ("Safety devices an absolute must," Aug. 27) repeats an oft-parroted fiction about the Scaffold Law by implying that the law is simply about safety devices. The law creates a standard of absolute liability for gravity-related injuries at construction sites — an unreasonable and unfair standard that exists only in New York.
This all but guarantees trial lawyers will win these cases and have major paydays, regardless of the facts, at the expense of taxpayers, small businesses, school districts, victims of natural disasters working to rebuild their homes and businesses, and pretty much everyone but them.
Mr. Santola quotes the state Court of Appeals in an effort to support his opinion. Perhaps he missed the high court's February 2012 decision in Dahar vs. Holland Ladder in which Judge Robert Smith noted the Scaffold Law is, "one of the most frequent sources of litigation in the New York courts...As we have long held, it imposes liability even on contractors and owners who had nothing to do with the plaintiff's accident; and where a violation of the statute has caused injury, any fault by the plaintiff contributing to that injury is irrelevant."
This law is costing New York billions of dollars and thousands of jobs. It means fewer schools, roads and bridges being built or repaired, higher property taxes, and fewer opportunities for all.It is not surprising that Mr. Santola and others who benefit from the current law talk about "safety devices" and anything but the costly truth of absolute liability, a concept that would offend even the most basic sense of justice, fairness and equity.
Mike Elmendorf
President and CEO, Associated General Contractors New York State, LLC, Albany