Michael Cutaia v. The Board of Managers of the 160/170 Varick Street Condominium, et al.

New York, New York personal injury lawyer represented Plaintiff, who sued Defendants on negligence theories.



While working on a building renovation project, plaintiff was tasked with moving

sinks from one area of a bathroom to another. The work required plaintiff to cut and reroute

pipes in the ceiling that were located near electrical wiring. To reach the pipes, plaintiff

used an A-frame ladder; however, because of spatial limitations, he had to lean the ladder

against the wall in the closed and unlocked position. While standing on the ladder and

attempting to connect two pipes, plaintiff received an electric shock and fell to the ground.

As a result of the accident, plaintiff suffered electrical burns to his left hand and the left

side of his torso from his chest to his hip, as well as injuries to his spine and shoulders.

Plaintiff does not remember anything about his fall, including whether he lost

consciousness, whether the ladder fell to the ground, or whether he was thrown from the

ladder after being electrocuted.



An "accident alone” is insufficient to establish a violation of Labor Law § 240 (1)

or causation (Blake v Neighborhood Hous. Servs. of N.Y. City, 1 NY3d 280, 289 [2003];

see Barreto v Metropolitan Transp. Auth., 25 NY3d 426, 433 [2015]). Moreover, Labor

Law § 240 (1) is designed to protect against "harm directly flowing from the application of

the force of gravity to an object or person” (Ross v Curtis-Palmer Hydro-Elec. Co., 81

NY2d 494, 501 [1993] [emphasis in original]).

Affirmed