Steven Dyki Wins Summary Judgment Dismissing Labor Law Section 240(1) Case In Nassau County

On June 28, 2017, Steven Dyki won summary judgment dismissing the plaintiff’s complaint in Grieve v. MCRT Northeast Construction, LLC, Index No. 4208/2013 (Supreme Court, Nassau County). The plaintiff claimed that one of the legs of an A-frame ladder that he was working accidentally slipped into a hole in the floor, causing the ladder to tip and the plaintiff to fall and fracture his skull. The plaintiff never returned to work following the accident and brought a lawsuit claiming violations of Labor Law sections 200, 240(1) and 241(6) and negligence against the general contractor. The general contractor brought a third-party action against our client for contractual and common law indemnification, contribution and breach of contract for failure to procure insurance. Mr. Dyki argued that the plaintiff’s complaint should be dismissed because he could not establish that any negligence or Labor Law violation was a proximate cause of the accident, other than through speculation and surmise. Mr. Dyki argued that the evidence reflected that the plaintiff had no recollection of the accident; the plaintiff’s co-worker, who was in the room, heard the plaintiff make a “moaning” like sound and did not see the leg of the ladder slip into the hole; and the plaintiff gave statements to his medical providers that he became dizzy and fell. Mr. Dyki argued that there were two equally plausible explanations for the accident - that the ladder slipped into a hole or that the plaintiff fainted - and that a jury would be forced to speculate as to the cause of the fall. The Court agreed and dismissed the case in its entirety.