The New York State Insurance Fund has filed a lawsuit against a Southampton property’s corporate owner over a construction site accident that occurred in May 2023. According to a report in The Real Deal, the lawsuit, filed last month in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, states the worker, William Baculima, suffered severe and permanent injuries after he fell from an elevation during a renovation and painting project at the luxury estate in the Hamptons. The complaint states that the trauma will affect Baculima’s ability to work and that he continues to endure “ongoing mental anguish and significant physical pain.”
A Violation of New York’s Scaffold Law
The state argues that the property owner violated New York Labor Law Section 240 (1), which is known as the Scaffold Law, by failing to provide the worker with basic safety equipment, which they say led to the accident. Additional counts allege general negligence (carelessness) and industrial safety code non-compliance.
The lawsuit also states that while Baculima was hired by a third-party painting firm, the property owner acted as its own general contractor, which strips them of immunity and makes them liable for this construction accident. The state is seeking to recoup its payouts to Baculima and guarantees that the worker will get two-thirds of any financial recovery in excess.
This high-profile lawsuit highlights the major financial risks of the Hamptons luxury market, which relies of expensive teardowns and huge renovations. The company that owns this particular property is known for its record-breaking sales and was home to three of the last year’s top 10 priciest deals in the Hamptons, The Real Deal reports.
How New York’s Scaffold Law Protects Workers
New York’s Scaffold Law, formally known as New York Labor Law § 240(1), protects construction workers who perform jobs at elevated heights. The law requires property owners, property managers, contractors and their agents to provide proper safety equipment such as scaffolds, ladders, hoists and other devices, to prevent workers from falling from heights or being struck by falling objects.
The law is considered a “strict liability” law, meaning that if a worker is injured because required safety measures were not provided or were inadequate, the owner or contractor may be held responsible even if the worker was careful. This gives injured workers a stronger legal path to compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, permanent injuries, lost wages, benefits and other damages. The Scaffold Law applies to workers involved in construction, demolition, renovation, repairs and certain maintenance activities involving height-related risks.
Compensation for Injured Workers
A large number of construction workers such as ironworkers, steelworkers, carpenters, masons, laborers or electricians work from an elevation or height by using scaffolds, platforms, ladders etc. When a construction worker is injured on the job, the first line of financial protection is usually workers’ compensation, which provides benefits irrespective of fault — covering medical expenses, a portion of lost wages and rehabilitation costs. However, workers’ compensation does not cover pain and suffering and benefits are often limited compared to the full extent of losses. The large verdicts and settlements occur when others are sued in third-party cases.
In some situations, injured workers may also pursue a third-party lawsuit in addition to workers’ compensation. These claims arise when someone other than the employer — such as a subcontractor, equipment manufacturer, or property owner or manager — contributed to the accident. For example, if defective machinery caused the injury, the manufacturer may be held liable. Third-party lawsuits can provide compensation for damages not covered by workers’ compensation, including pain and suffering, emotional distress and full lost earnings, and these verdicts and settlements can be quite large.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you have suffered injuries in a construction accident, the very experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. It is in the best interest of injured victims and their families in such cases to contact a very experienced personal injury lawyer before contacting the people responsible for the injuries, and definitely before contacting or communicating with any insurance company, or their lawyers, investigators, or adjusters.
Our law firm recovered $3,375,576 for a construction worker (an undocumented immigrant) who was injured on the job — one of the highest construction case settlements in New York that year. Our law firm also recovered $3,000,000 for a man who fell and suffered two broken legs when he walked into an open elevator shaft. Also, one of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys‘ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases, negligence cases, motor vehicle accidents, slip-and-fall accidents, ceiling collapse cases, lead poisoning, paraplegia cases, quadriplegia cases and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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Source:https://therealdeal.com/new-york/2026/06/23/new-york-sues-southampton-estate-over-construction-accident/