Wobbly Ladder Leads to Summary Judgment for Plaintiff in Labor Law 240(1) Construction Accident Case

In Ocana v. Quasar Realty Partners L.P., 2016 NY Slip Op 01902 (App. Div. 1st Dept. March 17, 2016), the court unanimously affirmed an order granting plaintiff’s motion for partial summary judgment on the issue of liability on his Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action.

From the decision:

Plaintiff made a prima facie showing of his entitlement to summary judgment as to liability on his Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action, by submitting his own testimony that the ladder upon which he was standing to perform his work wobbled, and that both he and the ladder fell to the ground as he descended it to figure out why it had wobbled. Plaintiff was not required to offer proof that the ladder was defective. In opposition, defendant failed to show that plaintiff’s conduct was the sole proximate cause of the accident and that it had provided plaintiff with adequate safety devices to prevent his fall.

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