DASILVA v. CONTRACTING CO (1999)

Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Carol Huff, J.), entered on or about November 23, 1998, which granted plaintiffs' motion for partial summary judgment as to liability upon their claim pursuant to Labor Law § 240(1), unanimously affirmed, without costs.

 It is uncontradicted that plaintiff, while performing demolition work, was injured when the unsecured A-Frame ladder he was standing on was struck by a section of pipe he had cut, causing him to fall.   Plaintiff had not been provided with safety devices, nor was anyone holding the ladder.   The failure to properly secure a ladder so as to hold it steady and erect during its use constitutes a violation of Labor Law § 240(1) (Kijak v. 330 Madison Ave. Corp., 251 A.D.2d 152, 675 N.Y.S.2d 341).   Here, the absence of adequate safety devices was a substantial and, given the nature of the work being performed, foreseeable cause of plaintiff's fall and injury (see, LaFleur v. Consolidated Edison Co. of New York, Inc., 221 A.D.2d 250, 633 N.Y.S.2d 496).   The striking of the ladder by a pipe cut during the ongoing demolition was not such an extraordinary event as to constitute a superceding cause and, accordingly, it cannot be said that plaintiff's actions in cutting the pipe were the sole proximate cause of his injuries (see, Wasilewski v. Museum of Modern Art, 260 A.D.2d 271, 688 N.Y.S.2d 547)

MEMORANDUM DECISION.