THAT THE LADDER WAS NOT DEFECTIVE DID NOT MATTER, THE LADDER WAS NOT AN ADEQUATE SAFETY DEVICE UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND THE LADDER WAS NOT ADEQUATELY SECURED, PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION PROPERLY GRANTED (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department determined plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on his Labor Law 240 (1) cause of action was properly granted. The ladder was deemed an inadequate safety device because plaintiff had to step off the ladder onto display cases to do his work. The fact that the ladder was not defective was not dispositive because the ladder was not secured:
Plaintiff, who fell from a ladder while installing light fixtures in [the] building, was forced to install a portion of the light by standing on display cases approximately 20 feet high, and then returning to the top of the ladder to finish that portion of the installation, which was located partially over the cases. While attempting to maneuver himself into position on the ladder, he lost his balance and fell. Whether the ladder shook prior to his fall or during that period in time when he was attempting to recover his balance is of no moment, since the ladder was an inadequate safety device for the work being performed … . The claim … that plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of his accident is unpersuasive, since plaintiff’s stance was necessary to perform the work … . It also does not avail defendants that the ladder was not defective, since it is undisputed that the ladder was unsecured, and the worker who had been holding the ladder walked away only minutes before the accident … . Nieto v CLDN NY LLC, 2019 NY Slip Op 01537, First Dept 3-5-19