New York

What happens when a ladder is inadequate for the task at one spot in the room, not because it is too short or lacked appropriate parts, but because when the ladder is placed in the only possible position at the location, its first rung is completely blocked and inaccessible?  The Appellate Division, First Department in Cohen v. Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Ctr. recently addressed this Labor Law sec. 240(1) issue.  Writing for the Majority, Justice Saxe held that the owner and contractor violated sec. 240(1) even though the ladder provided was not defective.  The Majority discussed how the ladder was inappropriate for the injured plaintiff to ascend and descend in a safe manner given a certain obstruction in the room.

Justice Friedman dissented,  focusing on the lack of a defect in the ladder that the injured plaintiff used.  Justice Friedman also reasoned that the accident resulted from a separate hazard unrelated to the danger that brought about the need for the ladder in the first instance.