Backhoe Bucket Not “Falling Object” Within Meaning of Labor Law 240 (1)

Plaintiff was severely injured when a backhoe bucket that had been suspended over him came down and crushed him.  With respect to the Labor Law 240 (1) cause of action, the issue was whether the backhoe bucket was a “falling object” within the meaning of the statute. In affirming Supreme Court’s determination that the backhoe bucket was not a falling object, the Third Department wrote:

 …[L]iability does not extend to “harm . . . caused by an inadequate, malfunctioning or defectively designed  scaffold, stay or hoist” unless the injury itself was  caused by  “the application of the force of gravity to an  object or person” … .  Viewing the facts in the light most favorable to plaintiffs, the accident occurred as a result of … jostling the controls, causing the backhoe’s properly functioning hydraulic system to lower the bucket. Thus, the evidence  submitted  by  plaintiffs, if accepted  as true, would establish that “the backhoe  bucket  crushed  plaintiff[] . . . not because  of gravity, but  because  of its mechanical  operation by  an allegedly negligent co-worker” ….   Under these circumstances, Supreme Court properly dismissed plaintiffs’ section 240 (1) claim because there was no falling object – “the harm [did not] flow[] directly from the application of the force of gravity to [an] object” …, but from the usual and ordinary dangers of a construction site … .  Mohamed v City of Watervliet, 515473, 3rd Dept 5-9-13