SUMMARY JUDGMENT PROPERLY GRANTED ON THE LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION BASED UPON A FALL FROM AN UNSECURED LADDER, IT DID NOT MATTER WHETHER PLAINTIFF LOST HIS BALANCE BEFORE OF AFTER THE LADDER WOBBLED (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department determined plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on the Labor Law 240 (1) cause of action was properly granted. The complaint alleged the unsecured ladder wobbled while plaintiff was attempting to install steel wall panels. The court offered a particularly clear explanation of liability stemming from the use of unsecured ladders:
…[P]laintiff … was injured when he fell from an unsecured ladder while installing steel wall panels in the lobby of a building … . “It is well settled that failure to properly secure a ladder to insure that it remains steady and erect while being used, constitutes a violation of Labor Law § 240(1)” … . It is irrelevant whether plaintiff initially lost his balance before or after the ladder wobbled because it is uncontested that the precipitating cause of both was that the suction cup that he had affixed to the panel and gripped to pull the panel into place came loose … . Under either scenario, the ladder failed to remain steady under plaintiff’s weight as he performed his work. Furthermore, even if plaintiff gripped the suction cup incorrectly, causing it to come loose, any such misuse of the suction cup was not the sole proximate cause of the accident where the unsecured ladder moved … . Plywacz v 85 Broad St. LLC, 2018 NY Slip Op 01883, First Dept 3-20-18
LABOR LAW -CONSTRUCTION LAW (SUMMARY JUDGMENT PROPERLY GRANTED ON THE LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION BASED UPON A FALL FROM AN UNSECURED LADDER, IT DID NOT MATTER WHETHER PLAINTIFF LOST HIS BALANCE BEFORE OF AFTER THE LADDER WOBBLED (FIRST DEPT))/LADDERS (LABOR LAW-CONSTRUCTION LAW SUMMARY JUDGMENT PROPERLY GRANTED ON THE LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION BASED UPON A FALL FROM AN UNSECURED LADDER, IT DID NOT MATTER WHETHER PLAINTIFF LOST HIS BALANCE BEFORE OF AFTER THE LADDER WOBBLED (FIRST DEPT))