THE SCAFFOLD BRACING BAR OVER WHICH PLAINTIFF TRIPPED WAS OPEN AND OBVIOUS AND NOT INHERENTLY DANGEROUS; LABOR LAW 200 AND COMMON LAW NEGLIGENCE CAUSES OF ACTION DISMISSED (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined the scaffold-bracing bar over which plaintiff tripped was open and obvious and not inherently dangerous. Therefore the Labor Law 200 and common law negligence causes of action should have been dismissed:
… [T]he horizontal cross-bracing bar affixed to the scaffold, about 14 inches above the ground, which plaintiff tripped over while attempting to step over it, was open and obvious, and not inherently dangerous … . Plaintiff, a carpenter for 28 years, testified that the cross-bracing was readily observable, he was aware of its presence, having stepped over it without incident on four to six prior occasions, and that the bar was stationary and secure and did not move or shift when his foot struck it.
Plaintiff’s own imprudent act of attempting to climb over the cross-bracing bar, rather than use the available openings in the scaffold without bars, was the sole proximate cause of his injury … . Plaintiff was admittedly aware that a safer method was available to him, and instead chose not to use it … . Peranzo v WFP Tower D Co. L.P., 2022 NY Slip Op 00147, First Dept 1-11-22