Being Thrown from the Forks of a Forklift Is a Gravity Related Event Under Labor Law 240 (1)

The First Department determined that being thrown from the front forks of a forklift (Bobcat) is a gravity related event covered by the Labor Law:

…[W]e find that falling from the Bobcat is the type of gravity related event contemplated by the Court of Appeals in Runner v New York Stock Exch., Inc. (13 NY3d 599 [2009]). In Potter v Jay E. Potter Lumber Co., Inc. (71 AD3d 1565 [4th Dept 2010]), the [4th] Department, relying on Runner, similarly found that a worker, who like plaintiff here, was positioned as a counterweight for a load on a forklift and was catapulted forward when the forklift became unstable, was entitled to the protection of Labor Law § 240(1). Penaranda v 4933 Realty, LLC, 2014 NY Slip Op 01547, 1st Dept 3-11-14