Brief Description of Case:
Plaintiff sustained injuries when, while cutting wood with a table saw, a makeshift ladder scaffold situated in close proximity shifted sideways and fell, striking him and causing his left hand and wrist to come in contact with the saw. Plaintiff alleged that our client violated Labor Law § 200/common-law negligence, § 240(1), and § 241(6) (predicated upon alleged violations of, inter alia, New York Industrial Coded provisions §§ 23-1.12(c)(2), and 1.21(b)(4)(i)).
Court or Jury’s Decision and Reasoning:
The Court granted summary judgment and dismissed plaintiff’s Labor Law § 200/common-law negligence claim(s), crediting our argument that the accident arose out of the means and methods of plaintiff’s work – as opposed to the existence of a dangerous/defective property condition – over which our client did not exercise supervisory control. The Court further dismissed plaintiff’s Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action, holding that the mere fact that plaintiff was struck by an object that fell in and of itself did not give rise to liability under the statute, and that the scaffold law did not apply because the danger that the plaintiff encountered was wholly unrelated to the hazards which Labor Law § 240(1)’s ‘safety devices’ were meant to remediate. As concerns Labor Law § 241(6), the court determined 22 NYCRR 23-1.21(b)(4) – which requires that ladders regularly used to access different levels of a building or structure be secured before use – to be inapplicable, predicated upon demonstration that the extension ladder in question was a component of the makeshift scaffold utilized by plaintiff’s employer’s workers to perform their work, as opposed to a tool utilized to access different levels of a structure or building. As concerns 22 NYCRR 23-1.12(c)(2) – which requires that table saws be equipped with guard covers – the court determined a question of fact to exist concerning whether same was violated, predicated upon plaintiff’s testimony that the table saw at issue lacked a safety guard.