Kahana Feld attorneys Rachael Marvin and Dominic Donato secured summary judgment dismissal of plaintiff’s Labor Law §§ 240(1), 241(6), and 200 claims asserted against their client, a general contractor of a housing project in Orange County, New York. The case involved a construction accident in which plaintiff fell while traversing a ramp, which was placed across an eight-foot-deep excavation trench.
Plaintiff was employed by a subcontractor and was part of a crew performing the framing work on the project. The accident occurred when he exited his work area by walking across a ramp that was placed across the excavated trench, when the ramp gave way and plaintiff fell into the excavation.
Defendants successfully argued that plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of his accident, and the defendants were not liable under Labor Law § 240(1), as the ramp was not intended as a walkway and there was another means of accessing the work area. Additionally, defendants argued the alleged Industrial Code violations were inapplicable, as plaintiff’s accident did not occur due to slipping or falling on an unsecured ramp; rather, it was due to plaintiff’s own conduct of traversing a ramp not intended as a walkway when there was another means of accessing the area where plaintiff was working. The Court dismissed plaintiff’s Labor Law § 241(6) claim under these grounds and further dismissed his Labor Law § 200 claim, as the defendants did not supervise or control plaintiff’s work and did not have actual or constructive knowledge of any dangerous condition, as the ramp was placed a mere twenty-four (24) hours prior to plaintiff’s accident.
On behalf of their general contractor client, KF attorneys successfully obtained summary judgment dismissal of all plaintiff’s claims pursuant to Labor Law §§ 240(1), 241(6), and 200, including dismissal of the complaint in its entirety.
