PLAINTIFF, WHO WAS USING HIS OWN LADDER WHEN IT SLID CAUSING HIM TO FALL, WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department determined plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on his Labor Law 240 (1) cause of action in this ladder-fall case was properly granted. The rolling stairway provided to plaintiff was not high enough to reach the control box for a door which was stuck open. So plaintiff used his own ladder which slid to the side causing him to fall 10 or 12 feet:

Labor Law § 240(1) provides that building owners and contractors shall furnish, or cause to be furnished, safety devices which are “so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper protection [to workers]” … . “To establish liability pursuant to Labor Law § 240(1), a plaintiff must demonstrate a violation of the statute and that such violation was a proximate cause of his or her injuries” … . A building owner may be held liable for a violation of Labor Law § 240(1) even if it did not exercise supervision or control over the work … .

Here, the plaintiff established his prima facie entitlement to judgment as a matter of law on the issue of liability on the Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action … by demonstrating that he was injured when he fell while using an unsecured ladder, which unexpectedly collapsed and caused his injuries, without the benefit of any safety devices to prevent such a fall … . Jara v Costco Wholesale Corp., 2019 NY Slip Op 08664, Second Dept 12-4-19