Slap NY’s greedy ambulance chasers: Rein in the – Latest News
Any New York chief who cares about “affordability” will cheer Rep. Nick Langworthy’s effort to rein in the state’s obscene “Scaffold Law.”
President Donald Trump, and anybody who’s constructed something in the Empire State, is aware of how the 140-year-old law makes construction initiatives more costly — and fewer viable.
Ever since 1885, this statute has made contractors and property house owners 100% answerable for staff’ “gravity-related” accidents even after they’re virtually completely the fault of the staff’ themselves.
That “absolute liability” rule sends insurance coverage premiums by way of the roof, including as a lot as 10% to construction prices.
Every different state makes use of a completely different “comparative negligence” customary — which means events share legal responsibility in proportion to their accountability for the damage.
More From Post Editorial Board
And now Langworthy (R-NY) is pushing a workaround for initiatives that use federal funds.
His invoice would ship lawsuits over accidents on federally funded jobs to federal courts, the place “comparative negligence” holds.
Even uber-liberal states like California and Illinois don’t impose the “absolute liability” customary; Illinois turned the final state in the union to scrap that method — a long time in the past.
Taxpayers may save billions on federally backed initiatives like the Hudson River Gateway project and the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
The anticipated complete price tag for federally funded work in New York over simply the subsequent 5 years is about $80 billion; if the Scaffold Law accounts for 10% of these prices, that’s $8 billon saved.
Albany ought to have ditched the Scaffold Law long in the past: In New York, a employee who hurts himself whereas drunk or ignoring security guidelines could make his bosses completely accountable — even when the employee was 99.9% accountable.
Get opinions and commentary from our columnists
Subscribe to our every day Post Opinion publication!
Thanks for signing up!
That’s not simply unfair; it makes initiatives needlessly pricey, generally a lot in order that they don’t get constructed.
But state lawmakers heed the calls for of trial attorneys and unions to withstand commonsense reform.
Perhaps with a push from New York’s most well-known developer, Congress will connect Longworthy’s repair to some must-pass invoice — and perhaps even embarrass Albany into eventually ending Scaffold Law madness.
Now that may be a true boon to “affordability.”
