Contractor Liability
Gilbane Building Company Construction Accident Liability in New York
Gilbane is one of the largest hospital and institutional construction contractors in the United States. Workers injured at Gilbane-managed sites in New York can pursue direct claims under Labor Law 240 and 241 regardless of which subcontractor employed them.
Free Case ReviewAbout Gilbane Building Company
Gilbane Building Company was founded in Providence, Rhode Island in 1870 by William Gilbane. More than 150 years later, it remains a family-owned company and one of the largest privately held construction and development firms in the United States. Gilbane has built more than 150 million square feet of construction across the country.
Gilbane's project portfolio in New York concentrates heavily in healthcare, education, and institutional construction. The company has managed construction and expansion projects for major New York hospital systems — NYU Langone Health, NewYork-Presbyterian, Northwell Health — as well as university construction for institutions throughout the metro area. Healthcare construction is Gilbane's national specialty, and New York's dense healthcare infrastructure makes it a major market.
Hospital construction presents a particular set of challenges. Work often happens in partially occupied facilities — live patients above and around the construction zone. Infection control protocols, noise restrictions, vibration limits, and access controls add complexity. But these constraints don't reduce the legal protections available to workers who get hurt. Labor Law 240 and 241 apply to hospital renovation and expansion work the same as to any other project.
Labor Law 240 and 241 Applied to Hospital and Institutional Construction
Gilbane as GC bears the non-delegable duty under New York Labor Law §§ 240(1) and 241(6) for all workers on its projects — including the dozens or hundreds of subcontractor employees doing the actual trade work. This is the core principle: the GC cannot shed its statutory duty by pointing to the sub.
Hospital construction and renovation creates genuine Section 240(1) exposure. New construction on medical campuses involves multi-story structures with work at height. Renovation of existing hospital buildings involves demolition, structural modifications, and installation work on elevated platforms and scaffolds. Workers installing new medical gas systems, doing electrical rough-in for operating suite upgrades, or working on curtain wall modifications face the same gravity-related risks as workers on commercial office buildings.
Section 241(6) is particularly relevant in hospital construction because of the complexity of the work environment. Tight access, limited space for scaffold erection, material movement through occupied corridors — these conditions can produce Industrial Code violations. Workers moving through active construction zones on hospital campuses face tripping hazards, inadequate lighting, and unguarded openings that trigger 241(6) liability.
University and institutional construction — dormitories, academic buildings, research facilities — presents similar issues. Gilbane manages projects at major New York universities, and these sites involve the same Labor Law protections as any other covered construction work.
What Workers Injured at Gilbane Sites Can Recover
Injured workers at Gilbane sites in New York have the same damages available as in any Labor Law case. Workers' comp from your employer is separate from and does not bar a third-party Labor Law claim against Gilbane. The third-party claim can include:
- All medical costs, including surgeries, hospitalization, rehabilitation, and future treatment
- Lost wages from the accident date
- Reduced future earning capacity — significant for skilled healthcare construction workers
- Pain and suffering (no cap in New York personal injury cases)
- Loss of consortium for your spouse
Hospital owners — medical centers, university health systems, health authority property — may themselves be Labor Law defendants as the property owners. Depending on the owner's structure, some hospital owners are public entities (public hospital corporations, for instance), which can trigger Notice of Claim requirements. An attorney can identify whether any defendants in your case have government entity status.
Documenting Your Claim at a Gilbane Site
Hospital construction sites maintain strict documentation requirements for safety and infection control. This works in your favor — Gilbane's project safety files are likely thorough. Through litigation discovery, an attorney can obtain inspection logs, daily construction reports, subcontractor safety submissions, and incident documentation.
- Get the incident report filed with Gilbane's site safety manager and obtain a copy
- Document the physical conditions before cleanup — photographs are critical
- Get names and numbers of any witnesses who saw what happened
- Get medical treatment the same day — hospital proximity on these sites makes this easier, but go to the ER or urgent care regardless
- Write down what happened before speaking with Gilbane's risk management or insurance representatives
- Don't sign anything without your own attorney reviewing it first
Common Questions
I was injured while working on a hospital expansion — does Labor Law still apply?
Yes. Labor Law 240 and 241 apply to construction, demolition, repair, and alteration work regardless of the building type. Hospital construction and renovation is covered construction work. The fact that patients occupy parts of the building doesn't change the analysis for the construction zones where work is happening.
The hospital that owns the site said they're a nonprofit — can I still name them as a defendant?
Nonprofit status doesn't insulate a property owner from Labor Law liability. Private nonprofit hospitals are Labor Law defendants the same as any other property owner. Government-owned hospitals (a city hospital, a state health facility) are different — those may trigger Notice of Claim requirements. Private nonprofits do not have that protection.
I fell from a scaffold while doing ceiling work in a medical office renovation — is Gilbane liable?
If Gilbane was the GC on that renovation and the scaffold was inadequate — improper construction, improper placement, failure to provide fall protection — they face Section 240(1) liability regardless of which sub put up the scaffold. The non-delegable duty means Gilbane can't shift blame to the sub that erected the scaffold. The question is whether the safety device was inadequate and whether that inadequacy caused your fall.
I was injured on a university construction project managed by Gilbane. Same rules?
Yes, with one potential exception: public universities (CUNY, SUNY) are government entities and their properties trigger the 90-day Notice of Claim requirement for claims against the university as property owner. Private universities (NYU, Columbia, Fordham) are not public entities and don't get that protection. In either case, your claim against Gilbane as GC follows the standard 3-year personal injury limitations period, though you should consult an attorney immediately regardless.