Labor Law 240(1)
Decisions under Labor Law § 240(1), which protects workers from elevation-related hazards such as falls from heights and falling objects.
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Worker Struck by a Falling Beam Wins on Liability Even Though He Did Not Know Exactly What Made It Fall (Oliveira v 5462th Realty LLC, 1st Dept 2026)
Under Labor Law 240(1), a worker struck by a falling object that should have been secured may win on liability before trial, even if he cannot say exactly what made the object fall. Here, the First Department affirmed summary judgment for a worker hit in the back by a falling beam, based on his testimony, including that the object seen in a video his foreman recorded shortly after the accident was a beam, and the foreman’s testimony that a coworker said he had accidentally hit the beam on the floor above.
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Worker at Sidewalk Level Falls Over a Barrier Into a Below-Ground Entranceway: Labor Law 240(1) Applies (Nunez v Hispanic Socy. of Am., 1st Dept 2026)
Labor Law 240(1) can protect a worker standing at ground level when the work exposes him to a fall to a lower level and he is not given adequate safety devices. Here, the First Department granted partial summary judgment on liability under Labor Law 240(1), against The Hispanic Society of America, to a plumber’s assistant who fell over a barrier at sidewalk level into a below-ground entranceway, where his work required him to lean over that barrier.
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400-Pound Beam and a Wet Floor: A Worker’s Testimony That He Also Slipped Sends His Labor Law 240(1) Claim to Trial (Mema v Procida Constr. Corp., 1st Dept 2026)
Labor Law 240(1) may cover a worker hurt when a heavy object he is carrying falls even a short distance, but if the record shows another possible cause, the question may be left for trial. Here, the First Department modified the order to deny a worker’s motion for summary judgment under Labor Law 240(1), because he testified that his foot slipped on a wet floor within a split second of a 400-pound beam falling onto it and that he did not know which happened first.
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Did the Accident Happen? Defense Evidence, Including a Biomechanics Expert, Sends a Worker’s Labor Law 240(1) Claim to Trial (Gonzalez v Chatsworth Bldrs. LLC, 1st Dept 2026)
An injured worker may win on liability without a trial even if no one saw the accident, as long as nothing in the record contradicts his account or raises a question about his credibility. Here, the First Department modified the order to deny a worker’s motion for summary judgment under Labor Law 240(1), because a sign-out sheet, 17 statements from people at the project, a biomechanics expert, and three examining doctors, taken together, raised questions whether the accident happened at all, whether it happened as he described, and whether it caused his injuries.
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Scaffold Fall: Worker Wins on Liability as the Court Rejects a Defense Biomechanical Expert’s Opinion (Latazela v Compass Six Owner LLC, 1st Dept 2026)
An expert’s opinion that disregards consistent evidence that the injured person fell and was hurt, or does not explain how the expert reached it, may not be enough to require a trial. Here, the First Department affirmed partial summary judgment on liability under Labor Law 240(1) and 241(6) for a worker who fell 11 to 12 feet from a plank on a scaffold that moved, rejecting the defendants’ biomechanical expert’s opinion as speculative.
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Porter Struck by Loose Plywood: No Scaffold Law Claim, but Labor Law 200 Reaches Beyond Construction Sites (Neil v Areeba, Inc., 2d Dept 2026)
Labor Law 240(1), often known as the Scaffold Law, protects workers engaged in certain kinds of work on a building or structure, but not routine maintenance, while Labor Law 200’s duty to keep a workplace safe is not limited to construction work. Here, the Second Department held that a porter struck by loose sheets of plywood could not add a Labor Law 240(1) claim to his case, but should have been allowed to add a Labor Law 200 claim.
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Hurt Catching a Falling Beam: Labor Law 240(1) Covers a Worker Who Neither Fell Nor Was Struck (Mitchell v Pullman SST, 1st Dept 2026)
Labor Law 240(1), often known as “the Scaffold Law,” may protect a construction worker who is hurt trying to keep a heavy load from falling, even if he never fell and nothing struck him. Here, the First Department affirmed partial summary judgment on liability for a foreman who hurt his back catching a 230-pound beam that slipped from a coworker’s hand, and held that being the foreman did not make him the sole proximate cause of the accident.
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Ladder Struck by Falling Plywood: Worker Wins on Labor Law 240(1), Whether He Fell From the Second Step or the Sixth (De Souza v 4720 Third Ave LLC, 1st Dept 2026)
A worker who falls from an unsecured ladder that suddenly moves may win on liability under Labor Law 240(1), even if the fall is from only a few feet. Here, the First Department modified the trial court’s order to grant partial summary judgment on liability to a worker whose ladder was struck by a falling piece of plywood he was removing from a ceiling, holding that it did not matter whether he was on the sixth step or the second.
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Late Motion Could Not Defeat a Worker’s Labor Law 240(1) Claim, but His Late Industrial Code Amendment Failed Too (Cambero-Minaya v 211 Schermerhorn Dev., LLC, 2d Dept 2026)
After the note of issue is filed, deadlines bind both sides: a late summary judgment motion without good cause must be denied without considering the merits, and a late change to the bill of particulars ordinarily needs special and extraordinary circumstances. Here, the Second Department reinstated a worker’s Labor Law 240(1) and related claims because the owner and general contractor moved too late, but left his Labor Law 241(6) claim dismissed because he sought to add Industrial Code sections about nine months after the note of issue.
Decision Day summarizes and comments on published court decisions. It is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case depends on its own facts. Unless an entry says otherwise, The Eskesen Law Firm did not represent any party in these cases.
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