You are here: / / PLAINTIFF FELL DOWN AN OPEN, UNGUARDED MANHOLE AS HE ATTEMPTED TO STEP...

PLAINTIFF FELL DOWN AN OPEN, UNGUARDED MANHOLE AS HE ATTEMPTED TO STEP OVER IT; PLAINTIFF’S ACTION WAS NOT THE SOLE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE FALL BECAUSE THERE WAS NO PROTECTIVE RAILING AROUND THE MANHOLE (FIRST DEPT). ​

The First Department determined plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law 240(1) cause of action. Plaintiff fell into an unguarded, open manhole. Defendants argued plaintiff’s attempting to step over the manhole was the sole proximate cause of the fall. But the fact that the manhole was unguarded (another cause of the fall) defeated the sole proximate cause argument:

Plaintiff established prima facie his entitlement to summary judgment on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim, it being undisputed that he was injured when he fell down an open and unguarded manhole that he had been attempting to cover, as instructed, while working on a construction site … . In opposition, defendants, the operator of the subway facility and its general contractor on the project, failed to raise an issue of fact. Their argument that plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of the accident because he allegedly stepped over the open manhole — at which point he was accidentally bumped by another individual and fell into it — is unavailing, given the lack of protective railing around the manhole or any other safety devices … . Piccone v Metropolitan Tr. Auth., 2022 NY Slip Op 03458, First Dept 5-26-22

Practice Point: A defense to a Labor Law 240(1) construction-accident cause of action is that the plaintiff’s own act or omission was the sole proximate cause of the accident. Here, even if plaintiff’s attempt to step over the open manhole was a proximate cause of his fall, the absence of a protective railing around the manhole was also a proximate cause. Plaintiff’s comparative negligence is not considered in a Labor Law 240(1) cause of action.

 

You might also like
QUESTION OF FACT WHETHER DEFENDANT EXERCISED SUFFICIENT CONTROL OVER THE WORK TO BE LIABLE UNDER LABOR LAW 200 AS AN AGENT OF THE OWNER AND GENERAL CONTRACTOR.
THERE WAS NO PROOF THE ORDER TO SHOW CAUSE WAS ACTUALLY DELIVERED TO THE INCARCERATED DEFENDANT; DEFAULT JUDGMENT VACATED (FIRST DEPT).
Special Proceedings, Here a Motion to File a Late Notice of Claim, Are Subject to the Same Standards and Rules as Motions for Summary Judgment—Supreme Court Should Not Have Considered New Evidence Presented for the First Time in Reply Papers
ALTHOUGH MOVING MONEY THROUGH A NEW YORK BANK IS ENOUGH TO CONFER PERSONAL JURISDICTION ON OUT-OF-STATE PARTIES, SUPREME COURT CORRECTLY HELD IT WAS NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE NEW YORK A CONVENIENT FORUM (FIRST DEPT).
THE CONTRACTOR COULD NOT ESCAPE LIABILITY FOR PAYMENT OF THE SUBCONTRACTOR; THE PAY-WHEN-PAID CLAUSE IN THE CONTRACT IS INVALID; NOTHING IN THE CONTRACT INDICATED THE CONTRACTOR WAS ACTING SOLELY AS AN AGENT FOR THE OWNER (FIRST DEPT).
Cause of Action Based Upon a Dispute About the Correct Rent-Increase Computation Accrues on the First Use of the Disputed Computational Methodology
BURGLARY SECOND DEGREE AS A SEXUALLY MOTIVATED FELONY IS NOT A REGISTRABLE OFFENSE UNDER SORA; DEFENDANT’S SEX OFFENDER ADJUDICATION VACATED (FIRST DEPT).
WHERE FRAUD IS THE BASIS OF A CLAIM FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY, THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS IS SIX YEARS (FIRST DEPT).

Categories

Sign Up for the Mailing List to Be Notified When the Site Is Updated.

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Copyright © 2026 New York Appellate Digest, Inc.
Site by CurlyHost | Privacy Policy

RARE SLIP AND FALL WON BY THE DEFENDANT AT SUMMARY JUDGMENT BY DEMONSTRATING... SUPREME COURT PROPERLY REFUSED TO QUASH SUPBOENAS ISSUED BY THE OFFICE OF THE...