Dasilva v. AJ Contracting Co.

• Decision Date: 22 June 1999
• Citation: 694 N.Y.S.2d 353,262 A.D.2d 214
• Parties: ANTONIO DASILVA et al., Respondents,<BR>v.<BR>A.J. CONTRACTING CO. et al., Appellants.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

262 A.D.2d 214

694 N.Y.S.2d 353

ANTONIO DASILVA et al., Respondents,

v.A.J. CONTRACTING CO. et al., Appellants.

Decided June 22, 1999.

Concur — Nardelli, J. P., Williams, Tom, Wallach and Andrias, JJ.

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 AD2d 152). 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., 221 AD2d 250). 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 AD2d 271.)