In Williams v. River Place II LLC et al, plaintiff alleged violations of Labor Law § 200, Labor Law § 241(6), common-law negligence and products liability when he was injured using a power saw with a blade with broken teeth.  On appeal, the First Department affirmed the lower court’s dismissal of plaintiff’s Labor Law § 200 and common law negligence claims because the accident was not caused by a dangerous worksite condition.  However, the First Department denied the owner, agent, and general contractor defendants’ motions for summary judgment as to plaintiff’s Labor Law § 241(6) claim because evidence that there were teeth missing from the saw blade raised issues of fact as to whether those defendants violated the Industrial Code provision that requires all safety devices, safeguards and equipment to be kept in sound and operable condition and whether that violation was a proximate cause of plaintiff’s accident.

This decision underscores the difficulty that owner, agent, and general contractor defendants face in avoiding Labor Law § 241(6) liability for jobsite accidents.  In this case, plaintiff further claimed that he twice asked his supervisor for a replacement blade which was not furnished and this evidence was sufficient to create an issue of fact as to whether defendants violated the applicable Industrial Code provision and whether this violation was the proximate cause of plaintiff’s accident.

Thanks to Lauren Branchini for her contribution to this post.