Injury Caused by Movement and Toppling of a Dry Wall Cart Not Covered by Labor Law 240(1)

The Fourth Department determined an injury related to the toppling of a cart carrying drywall was not covered under Labor Law 240 (1):

At the time of the accident, plaintiff was standing on the ground, the drywall on the cart was not being hoisted or secured, and the cart was not being hoisted or otherwise moved vertically … . We conclude that plaintiff’s injuries were not the direct consequence of a failure to provide blocks or stays to protect against a risk arising from a physically significant elevation differential; here, the function of such devices would not have been to protect plaintiff from the effects of gravity … . In our view, defendants established as a matter of law “that the injuries resulted from a general hazard encountered at a construction site and were not the direct consequence of a failure to provide’ an adequate device of the sort enumerated in Labor Law § 240 (1)” … . Miles v Buffalo State Alumni Assn Inc, 2014 NY Slip Op 06732, 4th Dept 10-3-14