UNSUPPORTED CEILING COLLAPSED DURING DEMOLITION; PLAINTIFF PROPERLY GRANTED SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE OF ACTION (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department determined plaintiff’s summary judgment motion on his Labor Law 240 (1) cause of action was properly granted where an unsupported ceiling collapsed during demolition:
Supreme Court properly granted plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim arising from the collapse of a ceiling that was not braced or shored during demolition operations. Regardless of whether the entire ceiling or only a portion of it collapsed, it was not the intended target of demolition at the time of the accident … . At the time of the accident, upon his supervisor’s instruction, plaintiff had descended from the ladder upon which he was working and walked under the ceiling that collapsed in order to inspect or remove a sprinkler head. Plaintiff’s supervisor acknowledged the ceiling would not have collapsed on plaintiff had he remained on the ladder. Moreover, because no safety devices were provided to brace or shore the ceiling, the fact that plaintiff may have pulled on it with a hook while inspecting or attempting to remove the sprinkler head at most amounts to comparative negligence, which is not a defense to a Labor Law § 240(1) claim … . Sinchi v HWA 1290 III LLC, 2020 NY Slip Op 03176, First Dept 6-4-20
