A Worker’s Conduct and Poximate Cause: Aburto v. City of New York
By: Robert P. Valletti
Even where a worker “violently and forcefully shakes” one of the rails of a scaffoled while dismantiling it, which ultimately causes the scaffold to collapse and the worker to fall through and sustain injuries, the worker may still recover under Labor Law §240(1) where the contractor or owner on site failed to provide proper devices to prevent the workers fall-related injuries.
In a recent appellate division decision, Aburto v. City of New York, the injured worker proved that the defendants violated Labor Law § 240(1) by failing to provide proper protection against falling through a scaffold if the scaffold collapsed. The worker further proved that his injuries were a direct result of this violation. The defendants offered evidence that the worker was “violently and forcefully shaking” one of the rails of the scaffoled while dismantling it and that this conduct caused the scaffold’s side-framing to give way and ultimately collapse.
The First Department held that although safety devices such as harnesses, lanyards, safety lines, etc. could prevent workers from falling off the edge of a scaffold, they are still insufficient to prevent workers from falling through a collapsing scaffold. The bottom line here are that these facts remained: the worker was provided with a scaffold which did not operate properly, causing the worker to fall and sustain injuries, end of story. Any wrongdoing on the part of the plaintiff does not prevent judgment in the worker’s favor.
If you have been injured due to a scaffold collapse or other fall related injury 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 attorneys ready to get started on your case today. Put our 150 years of combined experience to work for you!
