PLAINTIFF WAS KILLED WHEN A HEAVY PIECE OF EQUIPMENT HE WAS WELDING FELL; ALTHOUGH THE EQUIPMENT WAS FABRICATED FOR A POWER PLANT BEING CONSTRUCTED IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, PLAINTIFF WAS NOT ENGAGED IN CONSTRUCTION WORK WITHIN THE MEANING OF LABOR LAW 240 (1) (FOURTH DEPT). ​

The Fourth Department, reversing Supreme Court, over a two-justice dissent, determined plaintiff was not involved in an activity covered by Labor Law 240 (1) when he was pinned and killed by a piece of equipment he was welding. Plaintiff was engaged in fabricating a rotor compartment which was to be installed in a power plaint in New Hampshire. Plaintiff and the dissent argued plaintiff’s work was part of the New Hampshire construction project:

We conclude that defendants thus established that decedent was not engaged in a covered activity under Labor Law § 240 (1) inasmuch as he was performing his “customary occupational work of fabricating” and welding a rotor compartment “during the normal manufacturing process” at the plant in Wellsville, and was not involved in the construction project in New Hampshire nor involved in renovation or alteration work on the plant in Wellsville … . Preston v APCH, Inc., 2019 NY Slip Op 06236, Fourth Dept 8-22-19