You are here: / / Collapse of Makeshift Scaffold Entitled Plaintiff to Summary Judgment in...

Collapse of Makeshift Scaffold Entitled Plaintiff to Summary Judgment in Labor Law 240(1) Action—Plaintiff’s Comparative Negligence Is Not a Defense

The Fourth Department determined summary judgment should have been granted to the plaintiff in the Labor Law 240 (1) action. Plaintiff was not provided with a scaffold or safety equipment.  Plaintiff fashioned a makeshift scaffold which collapsed.  The court noted plaintiff’s comparative negligence (in the construction of the scaffold) is not a defense under Labor Law 240 (1):

We conclude that “[t]he fact that the scaffold collapsed is sufficient to establish as a matter of law that the [scaffold] was not so placed . . . as to give proper protection to plaintiff pursuant to the statute” … . Contrary to defendant’s contention, there is no issue of fact whether the safety equipment provided to plaintiff was sufficient to afford him proper protection under Labor Law § 240 (1). The only safety device provided to plaintiff at the work site was a 14-foot-long pick [an aluminum plank]. “There were no harnesses, lanyards, safety lines, or similar safety devices available for use to prevent [plaintiff’s] fall” … . To perform the work of installing siding on the building, plaintiff therefore had to create what the court accurately referred to as a “makeshift” scaffold by placing one end of the pick in the shovel of a backhoe and the other end between two pieces of wood he or a coworker nailed into the side of the building. “[T]he onus [was not] on plaintiff to construct an adequate safety device, using assorted materials on site [that were] not themselves adequate safety devices but which may [have been] used to construct a safety device” … . Bernard v Town of Lysander, 2015 NY Slip Op 00050, 4th Dept 1-2-15

 

You might also like
ORDER ADJUDICATING DEFENDANT A LEVEL TWO SEX OFFENDER WAS DEFECTIVE; MATTER REMITTED (FOURTH DEPT).
DEFENDANTS IN THIS WRONGFUL DEATH CASE WERE ENTITLED TO DISCOVERY OF TAX RETURNS TO DETERMINE WHETHER THE MOTHER AND FATHER WERE MARRIED AT THE TIME OF MOTHER’S DEATH, IF SO, THE STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS HAD PASSED (FOURTH DEPT).
Conviction Reversed Because Uncharged Theory Considered by Jury
AN AMENDED STIPULATED ORDER CONCERNING THE WIFE’S INTEREST IN THE HUSBAND’S LIFE INSURANCE AND 401k IN THE CONTEXT OF AN ONGOING DIVORCE ACTION, ISSUED AFTER THE HUSBAND’S DEATH, WAS WITHOUT EFFECT EVEN THOUGH THE ORGINAL STIPULATED ORDER WAS ISSUED ONE DAY BEFORE THE HUSBAND’S DEATH; THE DIVORCE ACTION ABATED UPON THE HUSBAND’S DEATH (FOURTH DEPT).
TEMPORARY ROAD WORK TRAFFIC CONTROL MAY HAVE FURNISHED THE CONDITION FOR THE ACCIDENT BUT WAS NOT THE PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE DRIVER STRIKING THE PEDESTRIAN PLAINTIFF, SUMMARY JUDGMENT SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED TO THE ROAD WORK DEFENDANTS (FOURTH DEPT))
Car Dealership Was Not the Owner of a Car Lent to a Customer While Customer’s Vehicle Was Repaired—Therefore Dealership Was Not Vicariously Liable for Injury Caused by the Driver of the Loaned Car
PLAINTIFF’S SUPPLEMENTAL UNINSURED/UNDERINSURED MOTORIST (SUM) COVERAGE WAS GREATER THAN THE BODILY INJURY COVERAGE IN THE TORTFEASOR’S POLICY; SO THE SUM PROVISION OF PLAINTIFF’S POLICY WAS TRIGGERED (FOURTH DEPT).
INCOMPLETE JURY INSTRUCTION ON THE DEFINITION OF ‘BUILDING’ REQUIRED A NEW TRIAL IN THIS BURGLARY PROSECUTION (FOURTH 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

Defendant’s Motion to Vacate a Default Judgment of Divorce Should Have... Supreme Court Should Have Considered the Alleged Incapacitated Person’s...