Our client was a carpenter who was working from a ladder to install framing on a new construction project. His work area was strewn with garbage and debris, which prevented him from seeing an uncovered hole in the concrete slab (apparently for the later placement of pipes). When he came down from the ladder his foot went into the hole and twisted, resulting in serious injury.
The insurance company moved to dismiss the case, arguing that the hole was part of the construction project and that it was our client’s fault for not seeing the hole. We appealed and the Appellate Division, First Department reversed the judge’s decision. The Court agreed with us that the owner and general contractor had a duty to provide a safe place for our client to work and that the fact that the hole was left uncovered and then obscured by garbage and debris that should have been cleared away was a violation of the safety rules that apply to construction sites.
Read the Licata decision here.