In Rocovich v. Consolidated Edison, 78 NY2d 509, 577 NYS2d 219 (1991), the Court of Appeals established that the hazards which are within the scope of §240(1) are those related to elevation differentials which require the types of safety devices called for in the statute:

The contemplated hazards are those related to the effects of gravity where protective devices are called for either because of a difference between the elevation level of the required work and a lower level or a difference between the elevation level where the worker is positioned and the higher level of materials or load being hoisted or secured.


‘Narducci v. Manhasset Bay Associates’

In Narducci v. Manhasset Bay Associates, 96 NY2d 259, 727 NYS2d 37 (2001), the Court of Appeals analyzed the types of hazards within the scope of §240(1) which are specifically related to falling objects. As will be discussed herein, unresolved questions remain post-Narducci which have generated conflicting decisions in the lower courts.

In Narducci, the plaintiff was standing on a ladder when a large piece of glass from an adjacent window frame fell and struck his arm. The window was part of the pre-existing structure of the building and no one was working on it when the glass fell. There was no evidence that anyone had worked on the window during the entire project. The court held that this accident, involving a part of the building which was not an integral part of the renovation work, was not within the scope of §240(1), as it was not a situation where a hoisting or securing device of the kind enumerated in the statute was either necessary or expected. The court stated:

Thus, for §240(1) to apply, a plaintiff must show more than simply that an object fell causing injury to a worker. A plaintiff must show that the object fell, while being hoisted or secured, because of the absence or inadequacy of a safety device of the kind enumerated in the statute . . .

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