PLAINTIFF’S LEANING TO THE SIDE OF A NON-DEFECTIVE LADDER WAS THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF INJURY.

The Second Department determined summary judgment was properly granted to defendants in a Labor Law 240 (1) cause of action. Plaintiff was using an A-frame ladder which was not defective. Plaintiff was injured when he leaned to the side of the ladder and the ladder tipped and the plaintiff fell. It was the act of reaching to the side, not a defective ladder, which was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s injury:

 

“Labor Law § 240(1) imposes a nondelegable duty upon owners, lessees that control the work performed, and general contractors to provide safety devices necessary to protect workers from risks inherent in elevated work sites” … . “To recover on a cause of action pursuant to Labor Law § 240(1), a plaintiff must demonstrate that there was a violation of the statute, and that the violation was a proximate cause of the accident” … . “Where there is no statutory violation, or where the plaintiff is the sole proximate cause of his or her own injuries, there can be no recovery under Labor Law § 240(1)” … .

Here, the defendants established their prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law dismissing the cause of action alleging a violation of Labor Law § 240(1) insofar as asserted against each of them. Their submissions demonstrated, prima facie, that the injured plaintiff improperly positioned and misused the ladder, which was the sole proximate cause of his injuries … . Scofield v Avante Contr. Corp., 2016 NY Slip Op 00493, 2nd Dept 1-27-16

 

LABOR LAW (LEANING TO THE SIDE OF A NON-DEFECTIVE LADDER WAS THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF INJURY)/PROXIMATE CAUSE (LABOR LAW, PLAINTIFF’S MISPOSITION OF A NON-DEFECTIVE LADDER WAS THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF INJURY)