Although you would probably never know it from following the news, not every accident that occurs at a construction site leads to liability under New York's Labor Laws. Indeed, as noted in ________________, the truth is starkly different.

So, when a plaintiff strains to fit his injury case within the purview of New York's worksite protection statutes, very often the courts will call that plaintiff out, and dismiss those claims. And that is precisely what happened in Martinez v. 835 Avenue of the Americas, LP.

In this case, the plaintiff claimed that he was injured at a worksite by wood that he was handling. Based upon the accident reports that he helped complete post-accident, as well as his testimony at a statutory hearing, however, the defendants pointed out that he was apparently injured while lifting the wood over his head, rather than from any gravity-related hazard, which would have led to liability against the defendants pursuant to Labor Law §240(1).

Consequently, when he tried to reverse course later on at his deposition, the court refused to go along with it, and dismissed those claims. This should hardly be surprising.

Jonathan Cooper
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Non-Compete, Trade Secret and School Negligence Lawyer
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