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A HEAVY STONE SLAB SLIPPED OUT OF A SLING AS IT WAS BEING HOISTED AND FELL ON PLAINTIFF; PLAINTIFF DID NOT HAVE TO SHOW THE EQUIPMENT WAS DEFECTIVE AND DID NOT HAVE TO SHOW HE AND A CO-WORKER WERE NOT NEGLIGENT; PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240 (1) CAUSE OF ACTION SHOULD HAVE BEEN GRANTED (FIRST DEPT).

The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on his Labor Law 240 (1) claim in this falling object case should have been granted. A heavy stone slab which was being hoisted slipped out of a sling and fell on plaintiff. Plaintiff did not have to show the equipment was defective and did not have to show freedom from comparative fault:

Labor Law § 240(1) imposes on owners, general contractors, and their agents a nondelegable duty to provide safety devices to protect against elevation-related hazards inherent in construction, and they will be absolutely liable for any violation that proximately causes injury regardless whether they supervised or controlled the work … . The statute is violated when an object that is improperly hoisted or inadequately secured falls … .

Because the sling proved inadequate to secure the slab against falling, the statute was violated … . Defendants’ contention that because the hoist and slings had sufficient load capacity to hoist the slab and were not broken or defective, plaintiff was required to demonstrate how the slab became unsecured, is unavailing. Either the sling itself or the manner in which it was used to secure the slab was inadequate and failed to provide proper protection, and plaintiff was not required to demonstrate how or why it failed to support the slab … .

Any failure by plaintiff to properly secure the slab with the straps would at most be comparative negligence which is not a defense to Labor Law § 240(1) … . Furthermore, any failure by his coworker to properly secure the slab with the straps was not so extraordinary or removed from defendants’ duty to provide an adequate safety device so as to constitute a superseding, intervening event breaking the chain of causation … . Gallegos v Bridge Land Vestry, LLC, 2020 NY Slip Op 06854, First Dept 11-19-20

 

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