Harm to Plaintiff Caused By Gravity Upon Object Invokes Labor Law 240(1)

In response to certified questions from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, the New York Court of Appeals, held in Runner v. New York Stock Exchange, Inc., No. 197, that § 240 of the New York Labor (the so-called “Scaffolding Law”) applies where a worker’s injuries were caused directly from “the application of the force of gravity to an object.” The facts of Runner are relatively simple and did not invlove plaintiff falling from an elevated work surface nor did it invlove him being struck by hoisted materials.  Rather, plaintiff, an electrician, and his co-workers, were endeavoring to lower an 800 pound reel of wire down a set of four steps in the course of the work.  To prevent the reel from rolling freely down the flight and causing damage, the workers were instructed to tie one end of a ten-foot length of rope to the reel and then to wrap the rope around a metal bar placed horizontally across a door jamb on the same level as the reel. The loose end of the rope was then held by plaintiff and two co-workers while two other co-workers began to push the reel down the stairs. As the reel descended, it pulled plaintiff and his fellow workers, who were essentially acting as counterweights, toward the metal bar. The expedient of wrapping the rope around the bar proved ineffective to regulate the rate of the reel's descent and plaintiff was drawn horizontally into the bar, seriously injuring his hands.  Expert testimony was proffered at trial that a pulley or hoist should have been used to move the reel safely down the stairs and that the jerry-rigged device actually employed had not been adequate to that task. 

The jury, having been instructed that liability pursuant to Labor Law § 240 (1) could not be assigned unless plaintiff’s injuries had been attributable to a gravity-related risk, and having found that no such risk had been implicated, returned a verdict for defendants. A motion by plaintiff to set side the verdict ensued. In granting the motion and directing judgment for the plaintiff upon his Labor Law § 240 claim, the District Court found, as a matter of law, that the movement of the reel down the stairs presented a gravity-related risk; that an adequate safety device had not been used to manage the risk; and that that failure had been a substantial factor in causing plaintiff’s injury.

On appeal, the Court rejected defendant's argument that section 240 was inapplicable and instead held that the injury was the direct consequence of a failure to provide statutorily required protection against a risk plainly arising from a workplace elevation differential.  Accordingly, the case represents the Court’s expansion of coverage under the Scaffolding Law and most certainly will be the source of much debate as plaintiffs will endeavor to further invoke the extraordinary protections of 240.