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THE EIGHT-INCH WIDE BEAM CLAIMANT WAS MOVING ALONG WHEN HE FELL WAS THE FUNCTIONAL EQUIVALENT OF A SCAFFOLD, BRINGING THE ACTION WITHIN THE SCOPE OF LABOR LAW 240(1); THE SAFETY LINE PROVIDED TO CLAIMANT DID NOT PROTECT HIM FROM THE FALL; CLAIMANT WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined claimant’s motion for summary judgment on the Labor Law 240(1) cause of action should have been granted. Claimant, Lazo, was moving along an eight-inch wide, 17-foot long, beam suspended above a platform when he fell. He was attached to two safety lines which he had to detach and reattach to anchorage points. He fell while in the process of reattaching one of the lines. The second line did not prevent the fall:

Lazo would use a hook at the end of each safety line to secure it to various anchorage points on another horizontal beam located above him. To move across the beam, workers were instructed to unhook the first safety line from the first anchorage point, connect it to a second anchorage point, and then repeat this process with the second safety line. This effectively allowed workers to move along the beam while always having at least one safety line attached to an anchorage point. * * *

Lazo’s deposition testimony established, prima facie, that his accident was within the purview of Labor Law § 240(1), since the beam from which he fell was being used as the functional equivalent of a scaffold … . Lazo’s deposition testimony also established, prima facie, that his second safety line was attached to an anchorage point but was nevertheless insufficient to prevent him from falling … . Lazo v New York State Thruway Auth., 2022 NY Slip Op 02400, Second Dept 4-13-22

Practice Point: Here an eight-inch wide, 17 foot-long beam suspended eight feet above a platform was the functional equivalent of a scaffold. The fall from the beam therefore was within the scope of Labor Law 240(1).

 

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