PLAINTIFF APPARENTLY FELL FROM A WET, SLIPPERY WOODEN LADDER; HE WAS ENTITLED TO SUMMARY JUDGMENT ON HIS LABOR LAW 240(1) CAUSE ACTION; NO NEED TO SHOW THE LADDER WAS INHERENTLY DEFECTIVE (FIRST DEPT).
The First Department, reversing Supreme Court, determined plaintiff was entitled to summary judgment on his Labor Law 240(1) without showing the ladder from which he fell was inherently defective:
Plaintiff testified that he was injured when he fell while using a wet and slippery wooden ladder provided by defendants for him to move between the tenth and eleventh floors of the construction site to perform his work. This testimony established prima facie that plaintiff’s work exposed him to an elevation-related risk against which defendants failed to provide him with proper protection, as required by Labor Law § 240(1) … . It is clear that the ladder was not adequate to prevent plaintiff from falling and there is no dispute that other than the ladder, no additional safety devices were provided … . Plaintiff was not required to show that the ladder was inherently defective … . Millligan v Tutor Perini Corp., 2021 NY Slip Op 00630, First Dept 2-4-21