Labor Law § 240(1)

The Second Department denied defendant's motion to dismiss a Labor Law § 240(1) cause of action, in Mentesana v Bernard Janowitz Constr. Corp., which was decided on October 9, 2007.

Plaintiff allegedly was injured while on a flatbed truck as he was looking for certain pieces of steel which were to be installed at a construction site. As he bent over, a steel I-beam which was being hoisted by crane came loose and fell, hitting another beam, which slid onto and crushed the plaintiff's finger. Plaintiff testified at his deposition that someone else attached the I-beams to the crane, that he had never received instructions on the proper way to attach the I-beams to the crane, and that he had never before performed that particular task. He also testified that the I-beams were elevated approximately three feet above his head when they came loose and fell.

The crane operator testified at deposition that plaintiff attached the I-beams to the crane improperly, and knew that they were attached improperly, but told the crane operator to hoist them anyway. He further testified that plaintiff had performed this task many times before, and knew that the foreman had instructed plaintiff with respect to the proper method of attaching the I-beams to the crane. The crane operator also stated that, after plaintiff told him to hoist the I-beams without properly securing them, he complied, knowing that the beams were improperly secured. Further, he stated that the I-beams were only one to two feet above the bed of the truck when they fell.

The court noted that Labor Law § 240(1) imposes liability upon owners and contractors who fail, in accordance with the statute, to provide or erect safety devices necessary to give proper protection to workers exposed to elevation-related hazards. In order for the statute to apply, the plaintiff must show more than simply that an object fell causing injury to a worker. Instead, a plaintiff must show that the object fell while being hoisted or secured, because of the absence or inadequacy of a safety device of the kind enumerated in the statute. What is more, liability is contingent on the existence of a hazard contemplated in the statute, and the failure to use, or the inadequacy of, a safety device of the kind enumerated therein.

Here, the court found triable issues, to include the relative height of the I-beams when they fell; whether safety devices were available to the plaintiff; and whether he had received instructions on how to attach the I-beams to the crane.