FALL INTO AN UNGUARDED TRENCH WARRANTED SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON PLAINTIFF’S LABOR LAW 240 (1) AND 241 (6) CAUSES OF ACTION.

The Fist Department determined plaintiff was properly granted summary judgment on his Labor Law 240 (1) and 241 (6). Plaintiff was directing traffic when he was struck by a truck fell into an unguarded trench:

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Plaintiff Martin Gjeka made a prima facie showing of entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the Labor Law § 240(1) claim, by submitting his and other witnesses’ testimony that he was directing traffic around an unguarded trench in the road measuring approximately five to eight feet deep, which was being excavated to allow new sewer lines to be installed for a building … , when a truck … traveling about 25 or 30 miles per hour, struck plaintiff, causing him to fall into the trench. Such testimony, as well as plaintiff’s two expert affidavits, established that his work exposed him to an extraordinary gravity-related risk, and that the absence of any safety device such as a barrier or safety railing around the trench was a violation of Labor Law § 240(1) … .  …

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Labor Law § 241(6) imposes on owners a nondelegable duty to comply with specific safety regulations … . Industrial Code § 23-1.7(b)(1) requires that “hazardous opening[s] into which a person may step or fall” must “be guarded by a substantial cover . . . or by a safety railing.” Industrial Code § 23-4.2(h) requires that “[a]ny open excavation adjacent to a . . . street, . . . or other area lawfully frequented by any person shall be effectively guarded.” Both are plainly applicable to this case. Gjeka v Iron Horse Transp., Inc., 2017 NY Slip Op 04536, 1st Dept 6-8-17

 

LABOR LAW-CONSTRUCTION LAW (FALL INTO AN UNGUARDED TRENCH WARRANTED SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON PLAINTIFF’S LABOR LAW 240 (1) AND 241 (6) CAUSES OF ACTION)/TRENCHES (LABOR LAW-CONSTRUCTION LAW, FALL INTO AN UNGUARDED TRENCH WARRANTED SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON PLAINTIFF’S LABOR LAW 240 (1) AND 241 (6) CAUSES OF ACTION)