Unwitnessed Accident No Defense to Labor Law

In Campbell v 111 Chelsea Commerce, L.P., the Appellate Division, Second Department, upheld the lower court’s decision to grant plaintiff summary judgment on her §240(1) Labor Law claim. Campbell was injured when the walkboard of the scaffold on which she was working collapsed. She was the only witness to her accident. On appeal, the defendants attempted to raise a question of fact, arguing that because Campbell was the only witness to her accident, the accident could have been caused by any number of reasons. The Second Department rejected this argument because it was based purely on speculation, and the facts were quite clear that the scaffold’s walkboard had collapsed while plaintiff was working on it.

Thanks to Alex Niederman for his contribution to this post.

http://www.courts.state.ny.us/reporter/3dseries/2011/2011_00482.htm