THE FACT THAT OSHA REQUIRES PROTECTION ONLY FOR FALLS MORE THAN SIX FEET WAS IRRELEVANT; PLAINTIFF, WHO FELL FROM AN ELEVATED PLANK, WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE OF ACTION (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department determined plaintiff’s fall from a plank, even if the fall was less than six feet, entitled him to summary judgment on the Labor Law 240 (1) cause of action:
Even if, as [defendant] contends, plaintiff fell less than six feet, that does not render the statute inapplicable … , [Defendant’s] claimed compliance with OSHA regulations requiring fall protection only for falls of six feet or more is irrelevant … . The wooden plank from which plaintiff fell did not constitute a “passageway,” but “served, conceptually and functionally, as an elevated platform or scaffold” … . DaSilva v Toll First Ave., LLC, 2021 NY Slip Op 06438 First Dept 11-18-21