Material Facts: Summary Judgment for Plaintiff despite Inability to Prove Type of Ladder
By: Robert P. Valletti, Esq.
Many times, the liability aspect of cases involving New York Labor Law §240(1) are decided on “Summary Judgment.” When a party wins Summary Judgment, it basically means that there is no reason to submit the facts of the case to a jury because reasonable people could not differ on whether the Defendants violated the law. To win Summary Judgment, a party must make a “prima facie” showing that there are no material issues of fact as to whether the opposing party violated the law.
The party opposing the motion for Summary Judgment then attempts to show the Court that there is a need for a jury’s fact finding function because there are material facts in dispute. This can be done through testimony or offers of physical evidence. Not any dispute of fact, however, will prevent a party from winning Summary Judgment, as illustrated by the case of Fanning v. The Rockefeller University.
In Fanning, the plaintiff sustained injuries while performing pipe installation work on a construction project in Manhattan. Specifically, the plaintiff testified that he got about halfway up a 10-foot fiberglass A-frame ladder (to the 5th or 6th rung) when the ladder twisted and threw him to the left. The ladder then kicked to the right. This was corroborated by the plaintiff’s co-worker.
In response, the defendants claimed that the plaintiff told her he had fallen from the third rung of the ladder and that he was originally on a wooden 6 foot A-frame ladder. The defendants did note, however, that the ladder was too short for the job the plaintiff was performing.
The New York County Supreme Court granted Summary Judgment in favor of the plaintiff. The testimony that the ladder twisted and threw the plaintiff to the left constituted a prima facie violation of Labor Law §240(1) regardless of whether there is evidence of the characteristics of the ladder in this case. The defendants’ presentation of facts that conflicted with the plaintiff’s characterization of the ladder (i.e. the plaintiff said it was a 10 foot tall fiberglass A-frame while the defendants claimed it was a wooden 6 foot A-frame) were irrelevant to the case and thus, did not present a genuine dispute of material facts.
If you have been injured from a fall from a ladder or other fall from height 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!
