Practice point: Labor Law § 240(1) requires property owners and contractors to
provide workers with "scaffolding, hoists, stays, ladders, slings,
hangers, blocks, pulleys, braces, irons, ropes, and other devices which
shall be so constructed, placed and operated as to give proper
protection" to the workers. The statute protects against such specific gravity-related accidents
as falling from a height or being struck by a falling object that was
improperly hoisted or inadequately secured. As to falling objects, Labor Law § 240(1)
applies where the object's falling is related to a significant
risk inherent in the relative elevation at which materials
or loads must be positioned or secured.
Student note: To recover damages for a statutory violation, a plaintiff must show more than simply that an object fell
causing injury to a worker. The plaintiff must show that, at the time the object fell, it was being hoisted or secured, or required securing for the purposes of the undertaking. The plaintiff also must show that the object fell because of the absence or inadequacy of a safety device of the kind enumerated in the statute.
Case: Flossos v. Waterside Redevelopment Co., L.P., NY Slip Op 05297 (2d Dept. 2013).
Here is the decision.
Tomorrow's issue: The firefighter rule, and a police officer's tort claim.
