Lawsuit Reform Alliance Releases "Victims of the Scaffold Law" Video Series

ALBANY, NY (02/06/2014)(readMedia)-- The Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY), a non-partisan nonprofit association committed to reducing lawsuit abuse, has released a their "Victims of the Scaffold Law" video series highlighting the impact of New York's "Scaffold Law" on small businesses, taxpayers, and, specifically New York's Minority and Woman Owned Business Enterprises (M/WBEs). A one-minute preview of the series is available at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-lvWWSfg78.

The Scaffold Law, which exists only in New York, imposes total liability on contractors and property owners in lawsuits for gravity-related construction accidents, regardless of any contributing negligence by the worker. The Scaffold Law is responsible for over half of the largest settlements in the state and dramatically increases the cost of liability insurance and construction in New York.

The video series features interviews with several M/WBE leaders who discuss the impact of the Scaffold Law on their business. Advocates in the video argue that insurance cost increases due to the Scaffold Law are threatening the future of M/WBE firms in New York.

The Lawsuit Reform Alliance, along with a coalition of over fifty advocacy groups, is pushing for the Scaffold Law to be reformed to ensure that liability is apportioned proportional to fault. LRANY Executive Director Tom Stebbins said, "Our goal is to give everybody their day in court. If a contractor or property owner was only partly responsible for an accident, they should only bear part of the liability – that's the way it's done in every other state."

The group plans to release additional videos in coming months, and is urging those impacted to visit www.scaffoldlaw.org to share their story.

The videos are available to view here: http://www.youtube.com/user/VictimsOfScaffoldLaw/videos

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The Lawsuit Reform Alliance of New York (LRANY) is a nonpartisan not-for-profit association of businesses, professionals, healthcare providers, membership organizations, taxpayers, and concerned citizens committed to changing New York's legal system to help create jobs and energize our economy.