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PLAINTIFF WAS MOVING A HEAVY COMPRESSOR ON A PLANK OVER A TWO-FOOT-DEEP TRENCH WHEN THE PLANK BROKE; THE INJURY WAS COVERED BY LABOR LAW 240(1) AS AN ELEVATION-RELATED INCIDENT (SECOND DEPT).

The Second Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s injury was covered by Labor Law 240(1). Plaintiff was moving a heavy compressor on a plank over a trench when the plank broke:

… [T]he injured plaintiff and his coworkers were attempting to transport a compressor, which weighed approximately 300 pounds, from a sidewalk to the street. To reach the street, the compressor had to cross a trench approximately two feet deep, which the workers had covered with a ramp made of plywood. As the workers moved the compressor across the ramp, the ramp broke, causing the compressor to fall into the trench and the handle of the compressor to strike the injured plaintiff’s foot. * * *

… [P]laintiffs submitted evidence sufficient to establish, prima facie, that the injured plaintiff’s accident was proximately caused by Madison’s [defendant’s] failure to provide appropriate safety devices to protect against gravity-related hazards posed by maneuvering the compressor over the trench … . The plaintiffs also demonstrated that the injured plaintiff’s accident was the result of an elevation differential within the scope of Labor Law § 240(1). Although the compressor only fell a short distance, given the weight of the compressor and the amount of force it was capable of generating, the height differential was not de minimis … . Thus, the injured plaintiff suffered harm that flowed directly from the application of the force of gravity to the compressor … . Gonzalez v Madison Sixty, LLC, 2023 NY Slip Op 02866, Second Dept 5-31-23

Practice Point: Here a plank over a two-foot-deep trench broke under the weight of a heavy compressor, injuring plaintiff’s foot. The accident was a covered elevation-related event under Labor law 240(1).

 

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