FIREFIGHTER’S GENERAL MUNCIPAL LAW CAUSE OF ACTION FOR INJURIES INCURRED WHILE FIGHTING A FIRE CANNOT BE BASED UPON AN ALLEGED OSHA VIOLATION ON THE PART OF THE PROPERTY OWNER.

The Second Department determined a firefighter's General Municipal Law 205-a(1) cause of action was properly dismissed. Plaintiff firefighter was injured when he fell into a pit in defendants' garage while fighting a fire. The General Municipal Law allows a firefighter to sue for injury incurred due to a failure to comply with an applicable regulation. Plaintiff alleged the open pit violated an OSHA regulation. However, OSHA regulations apply only in employer/employee relationships:

General Municipal Law § 205-a(1) provides that a firefighter has a cause of action when he or she sustains an injury in the line of duty “as a result of any neglect, omission, willful or culpable negligence of any person or persons in failing to comply with the requirements of any of the statutes, ordinances, rules, orders and requirements of the federal, state, county, village, town or city governments.” The plaintiff contends that he sustained an injury in the line of duty as a result of the defendants' violation of OSHA regulation 29 CFR § 1910.23(a)(1). However, a cause of action predicated on the alleged violation of OSHA regulations can only be maintained against a plaintiff's employer … . This Court has noted that OSHA governs employee/employer relationships, and thus OSHA regulations do not impose a specific statutory duty on parties other than a plaintiff's employer … . Gallagher v 109-02 Dev., LLC, 2016 NY Slip Op 02051, 2nd Dept 3-23-16