Bovine Excrement Results in Summary Judgment in Labor Law § 240(1) Case
Sometimes it’s figuratively bull**it. Sometimes it’s literally bulls**it.
In a recent decision, the Appellate Division, Second Department revered a Supreme Court, Orange County decision that denied plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of liability as to his Labor Law § 240(1) case of action and granted the defendant’s motion for summary judgment to dismiss the complaint.
In Wright v. Pennings, plaintiff alleges he sustained personal injuries when he was struck by an unsecured 20-foot extension ladder that fell when his coworker was instilling wiring in a barn operated by the defendant. According to the papers submitted by the parties, plaintiff’s co-worker placed the bottom of the ladder on a rubber mat that allegedly was covered in cow manure and hay, and began climbing the ladder, which resulted in the ladder falling and ultimately striking plaintiff on the head. Plaintiff was also working in the barn, performing electrical work, some 15 to 20 feet away from his co-worker on the ladder.
Plaintiff moved for summary judgment on the issue of liability as to the Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action, and defendant moved for summary judgment dismissing the complaint. In its decision, the Supreme Court, Orange County denied plaintiff’s motion, holding that plaintiff’s injury was not the result of he an extraordinary elevation-related risk protected by Labor Law § 240(1), but was instead one of the usual and ordinary dangers of a construction site.
The Second Department disagreed, noting that the failure to properly place and secure the ladder amounted to a violation of Labor Law § 240(1), which proximately caused the plaintiff’s injuries, because it proved inadequate to shield him from harm directly flowing from the application of the force of gravity.
The Second Department reminds us here that you can be exposed to a gravity-related risk, even if it’s not the plaintiff falling off the ladder, but rather the ladder falling to meet plaintiff.
The Wright v. Pennings, 2024 NY Slip OP 06233 decision can be found here.
For additional information, contact Philip D. Priore, Esq. and/or Michael J. Shields, Esq.
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