FKB’S Andrew S. Kowlowitz and Daniel H. Butler defeat Plaintiff’s summary judgment motion in connection to Labor Law §§ 240(1) and 241(6).  Plaintiff, a laborer, sought summary judgment in connection with an unwitnessed fall from a scaffold.  FKB represents a construction company that hired Plaintiff’s employer as a subcontractor to perform interior framing work and to clean debris.  Plaintiff underwent several surgeries (including a cervical fusion surgery), claiming that the surgeries are attributable to his accident. 

FKB obtained a sworn affidavit from Plaintiff’s employer which contradicted the version of THE accident proffered by Plaintiff.  In doing so, FKB argued that there are questions of fact concerning whether Plaintiff was injured when moving materials out of a truck – which is not an elevation-related accident, sufficient to trigger liability under Labor Law § 240. 

Justice Darrell L. Gavrin (Queens County, J.S.C.) denied Plaintiff’s motion, and found that “insofar as plaintiff and defendant presented conflicting versions of the accident, including one which did not involve working from a height on a scaffold, summary judgment is not appropriate given the outstanding triable issues of fact regarding how the accident occurred.” 

If you have any questions about this decision, or about construction liability defense in general, please contact Andrew S. Kowlowitz or Daniel H. Butler.