Wilson Cruz v. Roman Catholic Church of St. Gerard Magella

This is a strong case from the Second Department demonstrating the importance of Labor Law 240(1), otherwise known as the Scaffold Law, in protecting workers who fall from heights when they are provided with inadequate safety devices. Wilson Cruz was a laborer who fell through the frame of a scaffold which unexpectedly collapsed during the renovation of a school. The court emphasized that the unexpected collapse of a scaffold or ladder for no reason gives rise to a presumption that the Labor Law was violated by the defendant. Even though the defendant tried to argue that Cruz failed to use clips to secure the platform to the frame of scaffold, they made this argument for the first time almost 2.5 years after the accident, didn’t mention it in any of their accident reports, and presented only conclusory statements that, at best, showed comparative negligence which is not a defense under Labor Law 240(1), and certainly did not raise an issue as to whether Cruz was the sole proximate cause of the accident.