The Appellate Division, Second Department recently affirmed (in Paredes v. 1668 Realty Assoc.) summary judgment for plaintiff on his New York Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action.
Labor Law § 240(1) is a powerful statute that provides significant protections for injured construction workers in New York. As explained by the court:
The primary purpose of Labor Law § 240(1) is to extend special protections to employees or workers. To be entitled to the protection of Labor Law § 240(1), a plaintiff must demonstrate that he [or she] was both permitted or suffered to work on a building or structure and that he [or she] was hired by someone, be it [the] owner, contractor or their agent.
Here, plaintiff demonstrated his entitlement to relief under this statute:
[P]laintiff submitted evidence demonstrating, prima facie, that he was hired to perform masonry and related work at a site owned by 1668 Realty. The plaintiff’s evidence further established, prima facie, that, on August 22, 2005, while performing work at this site, he was injured when he was struck by a bucket containing debris which was being lowered from the fifth floor of the premises, and that the bucket fell because of the absence or inadequacy of a safety device of the kind enumerated in the statute.
In opposition, defendant 1668 Realty failed to raise a triable issue of fact as to whether plaintiff was an “employee” within the meaning of Labor Law § 240(1). Thus, the court affirmed summary judgment for plaintiff.