Construction Accidents

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A recent appellate decision, Arto v. Cairo Construction (decided Sept. 18, 2013), illustrates the need for clear jury instructions in construction accident cases brought under New York Labor Law § 240(1). There, the Appellate Division, Second Department granted plaintiff a new trial on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim following a jury verdict for defendants. Defendants were…

Read More Ambiguous Jury Instruction Requires New Trial in Injured Roofer’s Labor Law § 240(1) Case
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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…

Read More Masonry Worker Struck By Debris-Filled Bucket Wins on Liability Under Labor Law § 240(1)
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In Declercq v. WWP Office LLC, 2013 NY Slip Op 51552(U) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. N.Y. Co. Sept. 24, 2013), the court awarded partial summary judgment to plaintiff on his claim that he was injured after falling from a ladder. The court’s decision provides a good overview of the law under Labor Law § 240(1), and in particular…

Read More Employee Who Fell From Ladder While Cleaning Wins On Liability Under New York Labor Law § 240(1)
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Last Friday the Appellate Division, Fourth Department issued a short but sweet (for plaintiffs) Labor Law § 240 (1) decision. In Signs v. Crawford, plaintiff sustained injuries at a construction site owned by defendant “when a metal plate that was being hoisted by a jib fell and caught plaintiff’s glove, causing him to fall from scaffolding.” The trial…

Read More Scaffold Fall Results in Summary Judgment for Plaintiff Under Labor Law § 240(1)
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Yesterday the Appellate Division, in Cuentas v. Sephora USA, affirmed a lower court ruling granting summary judgment to a construction worker plaintiff on his Labor Law § 240(1) claim.  While working on a 6-foot tall, A-frame ladder (example pictured), plaintiff lost his balance and fell, sustaining injuries. The standards for evaluating a Labor Law §…

Read More Summary Judgment For Plaintiff, Who Fell From Ladder, Under Labor Law § 240(1)
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Condominium or co-op?  This distinction, familiar to purchasers of New York City real estate, was recently the basis for a notable decision in New York Labor Law jurisprudence. This week the New York Court of Appeals clarified the meaning of the term “owner” in Labor Law § 241(6).  In Guryev v. Tomchinsky, it held that…

Read More Condominium & Related Entities Were Not Labor Law § 241(6) “Owners”
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In a decision issued on March 29, 2012, the Appellate Division, First Department, held in Ortega v. City of New York that, in a Labor Law § 240(1) case – here, arising from plaintiff’s use of a “tremie rack” (example pictured) – “a plaintiff is not required to demonstrate that the injury was foreseeable, except…

Read More Labor Law § 240(1) Does Not Require Plaintiff To Show That His Injury Was Foreseeable Except In Case Involving the Collapse of a Permanent Structure
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In a 42-page opinion issued last week (copy below), Southern District Judge Colleen McMahon held that the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act’s (“OSHA”) crane regulations did not preempt the New York City Building Code’s crane regulations (codified at Title 28 of the New York City Administrative Code).  According to the Court, OSHA “is a…

Read More Federal Court rules that New York City statutes and regulations governing construction cranes are not preempted by OSHA regulations
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Salazar v. Novalex Contracting Corp., et al., 2011 NY Slip Op 08446 (Nov. 21, 2011) illustrates the “common sense approach” that must be employed when analyzing Labor Law 240(1) and 241(6) claims. P and his fellow workmen were directed to pour and spread concrete over the floor of a basement which contained trenches into which…

Read More NY Court of Appeals Holds No Labor Law 240(1) or 241(6) Liability Where Protective Measure Would Have Been Inconsistent With Work
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In Wilinski v. 334 East 92nd Housing Development Fund Corp., 2011 NY Slip Op 07477 (Oct. 25, 2011), the New York Court of Appeals vitiated the so-called “same level” rule that had embedded itself in New York Labor Law § 240(1) jurisprudence, and construed a Labor Law § 241(6)-triggering regulation. P, who was engaged in the demolition of…

Read More Court of Appeals Repudiates Labor Law § 240(1) “Same Level” Precedent and Construes a Labor Law § 241(6)-Triggering Regulation
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