Scaffold, Ladder or Roof Fall at Work

Falls from scaffolds, ladders, roofs and unprotected edges are the first kind of accident listed on our construction site injuries page, and they raise the same question every time: was this only a workers' compensation matter, or did someone other than the employer help cause it? The answer depends on what the worker was standing on, who put it there, and which safety order governed the work.

This guide sets out the main California fall rules for construction, then explains how responsibility is divided among the employer, the general contractor or owner, and the companies that supplied or made the equipment.

How is responsibility for a fall sorted out, step by step?

The workers' comp claim starts with your employer. Comp is paid without regard to fault and is generally the only remedy against the employer (Labor Code 3600 and 3602). The notices and forms are in our guide on the first week after a construction injury.
Identify the surface and the equipment. A supported scaffold, an extension ladder, a sloped roof, a floor opening and a stairway are each governed by different sections of title 8 of the California Code of Regulations.
Find the safety order that applied. The table below lists the main ones. The question is whether the rule required protection at that height, on that surface, for that task.
Find out who controlled each piece. Who erected the scaffold, who owned the ladder, who removed or failed to install a guardrail, and who directed the work that day.
Apply the rules for hirers. A general contractor or owner that hired your employer is presumed to have handed safety to it, with narrow exceptions explained in our guide on general contractor and owner responsibility.
Check the equipment for a defect. A ladder rail that buckled or a lanyard that tore may support a product claim against its maker or seller.
Prove the violation with your own evidence. A proven safety order violation can create a presumption of negligence (Evidence Code 669), but a Cal/OSHA citation itself is generally kept out of an injury lawsuit (Labor Code 6304.5).

What fall rules apply on California construction sites?

Situation	What the rule requires	Source
Work exposing a worker to a fall of more than 7 1/2 feet from a structure's perimeter, unprotected sides and edges, shaftways and openings, roofs steeper than 7:12, or other surfaces steeper than 40 degrees	An approved personal fall arrest, fall restraint or positioning system must be worn, unless the worker is otherwise adequately protected	8 CCR 1670(a)
Personal fall arrest systems	Rigged so the worker cannot free fall more than 6 feet or hit a lower level; inspected before each use; prompt rescue provided for	8 CCR 1670(b)
Work that cannot be done safely from solid construction at least 20 inches wide	Scaffolds must be provided, unless the work can be done safely from ladders	8 CCR 1637(a)
Scaffold design and planks	Supports its own weight and 4 times the maximum intended load; anchored and braced against swaying, tipping or collapse; planks inspected before use each day	8 CCR 1637(b), (c), (f)
Portable ladders used in construction	Must meet the general portable ladder rules: secure and level footing, the base set out about one-quarter of the working length, side rails 36 inches above an upper landing, three points of contact, frequent inspection	8 CCR 1675(b); 8 CCR 3276
Roofing on roofs more than 20 feet high (other than residential-type roofing)	Protection such as warning lines, parapets, personal fall protection, catch platforms or railings, depending on slope and roof covering	8 CCR 1730
Buildings 2 or more stories or 24 feet high; breaks in elevation of 18 inches or more in a frequently used passageway	Permanent or temporary stairways; stairways, ramps or ladders at the elevation break	8 CCR 1629(a)
Permanent elevated work locations outside construction	Access by fixed ladders, permanent ramps or stairways	8 CCR 3270(a)

Who can be responsible besides my employer?

The general contractor or property owner. The Judicial Council's jury instructions allow a claim against a hirer when it failed to warn of a concealed hazard it knew about (CACI 1009A), negligently exercised control it kept over the work in a way that affirmatively contributed to the fall (CACI 1009B), or negligently provided unsafe equipment (CACI 1009D). The notes to CACI 1009A quote the Supreme Court's Kinsman decision with a fall example: a roofer who falls through the defective roof he was hired to fix generally cannot sue the hirer, while one whose ladder falls because an unrelated wall collapses may be able to.

The same notes mark the limits. A decision quoted under CACI 1009A said the concealed-hazard test was not met where the ladder's defect could have been found by inspecting it and avoided by getting another ladder. And a decision quoted under CACI 1009B held that an owner's failure to install roof anchors on its building was a passive omission, not an affirmative contribution.

Another company on the site. A different subcontractor that pulled out a guardrail or left a floor opening uncovered is not your employer's hirer. Its conduct is judged under the general duty of ordinary care (Civil Code 1714), and the Labor Code preserves claims against anyone other than your employer (Labor Code 3852).

The maker or seller of the equipment. When a ladder, scaffold component, harness or lanyard fails in normal use, a product claim may sit alongside workers' comp. Our guide on being injured at work by defective equipment covers that claim.

Can a broken safety rule prove the case?

It can do a lot of the work. Evidence Code 669 presumes a failure to use due care when someone violated a regulation, the violation caused the injury, the injury was the kind the rule was meant to prevent, and the injured person was in the protected class. Fall protection rules exist to prevent falls by the workers exposed to them, which speaks to the last two of those elements. Labor Code 6304.5 makes section 669 apply to Cal/OSHA standards like any other regulation.

Two limits apply. The citation itself, or the decision not to issue one, is not admissible in an injury action except between a worker and the worker's own employer (Labor Code 6304.5); see our guide on whether a Cal/OSHA citation helps an injury case. And when the defendant is a hirer, the notes to CACI 3713 quote the Supreme Court saying a landowner is not liable just because a condition violated specific statutory or regulatory duties, since the contractor is responsible for its own workers' safety. The safety order helps most once one of the hirer exceptions is in play, or when the defendant is another company entirely.

What if the fall happened at a house or on a small job?

The roofing section (8 CCR 1730) states that it does not apply to residential-type roofing activities, which another section defines, so a house re-roof may be governed by different provisions. The text of 8 CCR 1670 and of the ladder rules in 8 CCR 3276 has no similar exception for residential work.

A homeowner who hires a contractor is a hirer too, and the decisions quoted under CACI 1009A describe the landowner's duty to warn of concealed hazards it knows about. A worker who falls on someone else's property while not doing construction may be in a premises claim instead; see our guide on a fall at work and a premises claim.

What changes the answer?

The hazard was hidden and the owner knew. Rotted framing under a deck, a skylight painted over, or a roof section the owner knew was failing can support a CACI 1009A claim if your employer could not have found it by a reasonable inspection and no one warned it.

The general contractor directed the method or supplied the scaffold. Directing how the work was done, or failing to carry out a promised safety measure, can be the affirmative contribution CACI 1009B requires; supplying unsafe equipment falls under CACI 1009D.

You were not wearing fall protection. Workers' comp is paid regardless of fault (Labor Code 3600). In a claim against another company, Civil Code 1714 takes your own lack of care into account, which can reduce what you recover.

Your employer refused to provide protection. If the fall was caused by the employer's serious and willful misconduct, compensation is increased by one-half (Labor Code 4553), subject to the specific findings required for a safety order violation (Labor Code 4553.1).

The fall was fatal. The family may have both death benefits and a claim against a third party; see when a family member dies at work.

What could this look like? An example

For example, imagine a roofer employed by a roofing subcontractor on a two-story office building in Windsor. The general contractor had a frame scaffold put up along one wall for another trade and tells the roofing crew to use it to carry materials to the roof edge. The scaffold has no guardrail on its outer side and one plank is cracked. The roofer steps onto the plank, it gives way, and he falls about 14 feet.

His employer's workers' comp insurer pays his medical care and part of his lost wages. A claim against the general contractor would rest on CACI 1009D, because the general contractor provided the scaffold the crew was told to use, and possibly CACI 1009B, because its instruction shaped how the work was done. The scaffold rules in 8 CCR 1637, including daily inspection of planks and removal of damaged ones, help show what careful conduct required. If the roofer's own crew had built the scaffold, the analysis would shift to the presumption that protects the general contractor. This example is made up to show how the rules fit together; it says nothing about any real case.

What mistakes do people make after a fall at work?

Letting the ladder, plank or harness be thrown away before anyone photographs it.
Assuming the fall was "nobody's fault" because no Cal/OSHA citation issued.
Not learning who erected the scaffold or owned the ladder.
Skipping a report to the employer out of fear for the job; our guide on being fired for a workers' comp claim explains the legal protection.
Waiting so long that the two-year deadline for a claim against another company runs.

What should I do this week?

Give your employer written notice and return the workers' comp claim form.
Photograph, or ask a coworker to photograph, the scaffold, ladder, roof edge or opening, including any missing guardrail.
Ask in writing that the equipment involved be kept, not repaired or discarded.
Write down who built, owned and inspected the equipment, and who told you to use it.
Collect the names and phone numbers of coworkers who saw the fall or the set-up.
Note the deadlines in our guide to California personal injury deadlines.

Frequently asked questions

Do ladder rules apply to short falls?

Yes. The portable ladder rules in 8 CCR 3276, which apply in construction through 8 CCR 1675, cover footing, angle, inspection and climbing regardless of height. The 7 1/2-foot threshold is the trigger for personal fall protection under 8 CCR 1670.

Was my employer required to give me a harness?

When work exposed you to a fall of more than 7 1/2 feet from an unprotected edge, opening or steep roof, approved personal fall protection must be worn unless you were otherwise adequately protected, for example by railings (8 CCR 1670(a)).

Can I sue the homeowner or building owner?

Sometimes. An owner that hired your employer is presumed to have delegated safety, but it can be responsible for a concealed hazard it knew about, control it used, or equipment it supplied (CACI 1009A, 1009B and 1009D).

The ladder belonged to me. Does that matter?

It can. A hirer's liability for unsafe equipment under CACI 1009D depends on the hirer having provided it. A defect in a ladder you bought could still support a claim against its maker or seller.

How long do I have to bring a claim against another company?

A lawsuit for personal injury generally must be filed within two years (Code of Civil Procedure 335.1). If a public agency owned the project, a written claim is generally due within six months (Government Code 911.2).

If you fell from a scaffold, ladder or roof on a job site and want to know who else may be responsible, contact Young Law Group today at (707) 343-0556 or through our contact page for a free consultation.

I fell from a scaffold, ladder or roof on a job site: who is responsible?