FALL WHEN DESCENDING A 28-FOOT LADDER ENTITLED PLAINTIFF TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT, APPARENTLY A 40-FOOT LADDER WOULD HAVE BEEN SAFER BUT NONE WAS AVAILABLE, THEREFORE USE OF THE SHORTER LADDER COULD NOT BE THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE INJURY.
The Second Department determined plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law 240(1) cause of action. Plaintiff fell when he attempted to descend a 28-foot ladder. Apparently a 40-foot ladder would have been safer, but there was no showing a 40-foot ladder was available. Therefore plaintiff’s use of a 28-foot ladder could not be the sole proximate cause of his injury:
… [T]he plaintiff established his prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability by demonstrating that he was injured when he fell while descending an unsecured, 28-foot ladder, and that he was not provided with a safety device to prevent him from falling … . Contrary to Halsted’s (defendant’s) contention, it failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether the plaintiff’s decision to use a 28-foot ladder, rather than a 40-foot ladder, was the sole proximate cause of his injuries. The record reveals that there were no 40-foot ladders readily available to the plaintiff on the date of his accident, and that a Halsted employee nevertheless instructed the plaintiff that he was required to complete his job, or be fired. Under these circumstances, the plaintiff’s use of the 28-foot ladder cannot be said to be the sole proximate cause of his injuries … . Pacheco v Halsted Communications, Ltd., 2016 NY Slip Op 07303, 2nd Dept 11-9-16
LABOR LAW-CONSTRUCTION LAW (FALL WHEN DESCENDING A 28-FOOT LADDER ENTITLED PLAINTIFF TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT, APPARENTLY A 40-FOOT LADDER WOULD HAVE BEEN SAFER BUT NONE WAS AVAILABLE, THEREFORE USE OF THE SHORTER LADDER COULD NOT BE THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE INJURY)/LADDERS (FALL WHEN DESCENDING A 28-FOOT LADDER ENTITLED PLAINTIFF TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT, APPARENTLY A 40-FOOT LADDER WOULD HAVE BEEN SAFER BUT NONE WAS AVAILABLE, THEREFORE USE OF THE SHORTER LADDER COULD NOT BE THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE INJURY)/SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE (LABOR LAW, FALL WHEN DESCENDING A 28-FOOT LADDER ENTITLED PLAINTIFF TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT, APPARENTLY A 40-FOOT LADDER WOULD HAVE BEEN SAFER BUT NONE WAS AVAILABLE, THEREFORE USE OF THE SHORTER LADDER COULD NOT BE THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE INJURY)