Marin v. City of New York

Supreme Court, Kings County (Vaughan, J.)

This case demonstrates that an employee operating machinery might expose its employer to liability under Labor Law Section 241(6) through his or her actions. The plaintiff was injured by a swinging pipe — which weighed 2000 pounds — while working at the City-owned Bowery Bay Water Pollution Center. Defendant Lomar delivered the subject pipe to the work site using a flatbed truck with a crane mounted behind its cab. Notably, Lomar did not own the plant or serve as the general contractor on the underlying project. Also, Lomar had not hired the plaintiff’s employer and the record reflected that Lomar did not have the authority to supervise the plaintiff.

The Court denied Lomar’s summary motion judgment on the section 241(6) claim, observing that Lomar exercised control over the lowering and hoisting operation that caused the accident. It noted that Lomar’s employee operated the crane, was the person who attached the pipe to the sling holding it, and adjusted the crane’ rigging so the pipe was suspended at a certain angle. The Court held that based on those facts Lomar had failed to establish as a matter of law that it was not an “agent” under section 241(6).

I AM ATTEMPTING TO OBTAIN THE WRITTEN DECISION(see most recent post).