Contractor Liability
Related Companies Construction Accident Liability in New York
Related Companies developed Hudson Yards — the largest private real estate project in US history — and continues active construction across New York City. As both developer and de facto owner/operator, Related faces direct liability under Labor Law 240 and 241 for injuries on their sites.
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Related Companies was founded by Stephen Ross in 1972 as a developer focused on affordable housing. Over the following decades it grew into one of the most prominent real estate developers in the United States, with a portfolio spanning luxury residential, commercial, retail, and mixed-use development.
Hudson Yards is Related's defining New York project. Starting construction in 2012 on 28 acres above active rail yards on Manhattan's West Side, Related (in a joint venture with Oxford Properties) developed what became the largest private real estate development in United States history. Phase 1 included 10 Hudson Yards, 30 Hudson Yards (built by AECOM Tishman under Related's development), 15 Hudson Yards (residential), the Vessel, and the Shops and Restaurants at Hudson Yards. Phase 2 of the development continues.
Related's involvement in Hudson Yards goes beyond simply hiring contractors. Related controlled the site, controlled the development program, and in many respects acted as the owner-operator throughout construction. In New York, property owners face the same non-delegable duties under Labor Law 240 and 241 as general contractors. Related's role as owner of the Hudson Yards site puts it squarely in the statutory liability framework.
Outside Hudson Yards, Related has developed luxury residential towers throughout Manhattan, mixed-income housing developments, and commercial properties. Each active construction project creates the same Labor Law exposure.
Owner Liability Under Labor Law 240 and 241
The non-delegable duty under New York Labor Law §§ 240(1) and 241(6) applies to both contractors and owners. Related Companies, as owner/developer of its projects, is within the statute's scope whether or not it holds a GC contract directly.
An owner cannot simply hire a GC, step back, and disclaim responsibility when a worker gets hurt. New York courts have repeatedly held that the owner's duty to provide safe working conditions under the Labor Law is non-delegable — it cannot be transferred to the GC by contract. If Related owns the site where construction is happening and a worker falls from an inadequately protected scaffold, Related faces Labor Law 240(1) liability alongside the GC.
Hudson Yards was a multi-year, multi-phase construction project involving thousands of workers across dozens of trades. At any point during construction, the site presented the full range of gravity-related hazards: structural steel erection at hundreds of feet, curtain wall installation, concrete forming and pouring, mechanical and electrical rough-in work. These are Section 240(1) risks.
The platform construction over the rail yards — before any vertical work began — involved its own category of elevation risk. Workers constructing the platform above active rail infrastructure faced risks that are squarely within the Labor Law's coverage.
What Workers Injured at Related Sites Can Recover
Workers injured on Related Companies development sites have the same damages available under Labor Law 240 and 241 as on any other New York construction site: full medical expenses, lost wages, reduced future earning capacity, and pain and suffering. There is no cap on these damages in New York personal injury cases.
Related Companies and its joint venture partners carry substantial insurance on major development projects. Hudson Yards-scale projects carry project-specific wrap-up insurance programs — OCIPs (Owner-Controlled Insurance Programs) — that provide a single large policy covering all contractors and subcontractors on the site. In OCIP situations, the claims process looks different, but the substantive Labor Law rights are the same.
If you were injured on a Related-owned or Related-developed site and received workers' compensation from your employer, you may still have a separate third-party claim against Related under Labor Law 240 or 241. Workers' comp does not extinguish these claims.
Documenting Your Claim
Related's projects generate extensive documentation. Development-level decisions, GC contracts, subcontractor agreements, safety plans, inspection records, and incident reports are all potentially relevant. These are obtainable through discovery.
On your end: incident report with a copy, photographs of the conditions, witness names, same-day medical treatment, and no recorded statements to anyone representing Related or its insurers without your own counsel present.
Common Questions
Related wasn't the GC — they just owned the site. Can I still sue them?
Yes. Labor Law 240(1) and 241(6) expressly impose liability on owners as well as contractors. If Related owned the property where construction was occurring, they are a proper Labor Law defendant regardless of whether they held the GC contract or hired a separate construction manager.
I was injured during platform construction at Hudson Yards — above active rail yards. Does Labor Law apply?
Yes. Labor Law applies to covered construction work regardless of the underlying site conditions. The platform construction involved workers at significant elevation differentials with gravity-related risks — exactly what Section 240(1) was written to cover. The MTA may also be involved as the entity controlling the underlying rail infrastructure, which could trigger Notice of Claim requirements against that entity.
What is an OCIP and how does it affect my claim?
An OCIP (Owner-Controlled Insurance Program) is a project-specific insurance policy purchased by the owner that covers all contractors and subcontractors on the site. If you're an employee of a sub on an OCIP project, your employer's workers' comp coverage is provided through the OCIP. This doesn't change your Labor Law rights — you still have third-party claims against Related and the GC. But the insurance structure affects how claims are administered, and it's something your attorney needs to understand before filing.
Phase 2 of Hudson Yards is still under construction. If I'm working there now, do the same rules apply?
Yes. Labor Law 240 and 241 apply to all active construction work in New York regardless of when a project started or what phase it's in. Workers on Phase 2 of Hudson Yards have the same rights as workers who were injured during Phase 1 construction. The key is identifying the proper defendants — who is the owner and who is the GC on the specific contract covering your work.