Reinforcing the Standard: A Plaintiff Is Not Required To Present Evidence of a Structural Defect in Failed Safety Equipment under New York Labor Law §240(1)
By Robert Valletti
A common issue that personal injury lawyers deal with in cases involving the New York Labor Law §240 is whether the plaintiff is required to, or if not required to should do so anyway, present evidence of a specific structural defect in the safety equipment that failed and caused the plaintiff tofall from a height or sustain an injury from a falling object. While it may sometimes be clear from the injured worker’s testimony what the problem with the equipment was, many times the worker does not see how their accident occurs and must rely on speculation to prove a violation of the Labor Law.
No doubt, plaintiff-side attorneys would rather know the specific flaw which caused their client’s injuries and be able to present to a jury pictures of a faulty scaffold or a broken ladder; these images undoubtedly help a juror identify the problem, making placement of liability against defendants easier. There are times, however, where the plaintiff has no knowledge as to the cause of his injuries and the equipment which failed on the date of the accident is destroyed or is still in use after repair.
On May 10, the First Department reaffirmed the state of the law on this issue in Carchipulla v. 6661 Broadway Partners, LLC: to win summary judgment on a Labor Law §240(1) case, a Plaintiff is not required to present evidence of a specific structural defect in the equipment he was using prior to the fall from height. The Carchipulla involved a worker who fell from a ladder that shook while he was on it, causing him to sustain injuries.
The concept reaffirmed in the Carchipulla case is significant because it alleviates a “perceived” problem plaintiffs have in establishing the defect in the equipment caused the workers injuries, i.e. when the plaintiff does not know or is unable to describe or completely lacks direct evidence of a defect in the equipment.
What does this mean for the injured worker? If you have been injured by in a fall from height on a ladder, scaffold or other elevated platform at a construction site, you do not need to know why the fall occurred or if there was a problem in equipment that was being used. All that is necessary is proving that the person who was supposed to provide adequate safety devices failed to do so, and that this failure was the cause of your injuries.
If you have been injured due to a fall while working at a construction site, call the Construction Site Accident attorneys at 1-888-GINARTE today. You may be entitled to money for your injuries. We have 25 experienced Construction Site Accident lawyers ready to get started on your case today. Put our 150 years of combined experience to work for you!
