O'Brien v. Tectonic Bldrs. Inc.

Summary

The Appellate Division, First Department modified an order denying Kevin O'Brien partial summary judgment on his Labor Law § 241(6) claim. The court held that a damaged plywood ramp constituted both a passageway and a working area under Industrial Code § 23-1.7(e)(1) and (2), and that the raised ramp edge was a proximate cause of the injury. The court rejected the integral-to-the-work defense and held that comparative negligence did not defeat the statutory claim.

Holdings

1. Plaintiff was entitled to partial summary judgment because the ramp was a passageway and working area, its raised two-to-three-inch nose was both an obstruction or tripping condition and a sharp projection under the cited Industrial Code provisions, and the condition proximately caused plaintiff's injury.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the damaged ramp constituted a passageway under Industrial Code § 23-1.7(e)(1) and a working area under § 23-1.7(e)(2).
2. Whether the raised edge of the ramp was an obstruction or tripping condition under § 23-1.7(e)(1) and a sharp projection under § 23-1.7(e)(2).
3. Whether the integral-to-the-work defense or plaintiff's alleged failure to lift his foot higher defeated plaintiff's Labor Law § 241(6) claim.

Disposition

reversed_and_remanded