The First Department, over an extensive concurring memorandum, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law 240 (1) cause of action. Plaintiff was standing on an A-frame ladder when he was jolted by contact with an electric wire and the ladder fell over as plaintiff held on to it. There was no evidence the ladder was defective. The majority held the fact the ladder was not secured to something, and therefore fell over while plaintiff was hanging on to it, demonstrated the failure to provide plaintiff with an adequate safety device. The concurring memorandum argued plaintiff’s fall from a non-defective ladder was not enough to justify summary judgment, but rather the fall from the ladder after contact with electricity raised a question of fact about the adequacy of the safety devices provided. The majority wrote:
Here, plaintiff was injured when he was jolted by the electrical charge and although he hung onto the ladder, because it was not secured to something stable, it and he fell to the ground … . The lack of a secure ladder is a violation of Labor Law § 240(1), and is a proximate cause of the accident … . Nazario v 222 Broadway, LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 00251, 1st Dept 1-14-16
LABOR LAW (SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION SUPPORTED BY NON-DEFECTIVE A-FRAME LADDER WHICH FELL OVER WITH PLAINTIFF HOLDING ON TO IT AFTER PLAINTIFF WAS JOLTED WITH ELECTRICITY)