A construction worker injured in a fall down a staircase while he was moving a 200-pound mold should have been granted summary judgment on his Labor Law case, according to a New York appeals court.
The Appellate Division, First Department ruled that the staircase was an elevated work platform under the law and that the foreman’s insistence that the mold be carried up the stairs instead of using a hoist proved that worker wasn’t the cause of the incident.
Supervisor insisted the mold should be carried upstairs
Claudenor DaSilva was working for Advanced Contracting Solutions NY LLC at a property owned by Toll GC LLC.
A foreman with Advanced Contracting told DaSilva to bring a staircase mold weighing 200 pounds from the fifth floor of the property up to the sixth floor.
DaSilva requested to use a hoist to perform the task but his supervisor insisted that they carry the mold up the stairs.
While the two men carried the mold up the stairway, they hit a vertical support pole several times as they tried to maneuver around it. That caused DaSilva to slip on concrete debris and fall down the stairs.
On March 18, 2022, a lower court denied DaSilva’s request for summary judgment on the Labor Law case he filed over his injury.
Staircase considered an elevated work platform
DaSilva appealed the lower court decision, and the Appellate Division, First Department reversed the lower court’s ruling.
The appeals court stated that the staircase that DaSilva fell from could be considered an elevated work platform under the Labor Law despite the fact that it was a permanent structure.
Further, DaSilva couldn’t be the sole proximate cause of his injury since he was following his supervisor’s instructions when he fell while manually carrying the mold up the stairs.
