PERALTA v. AM. TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH CO

Defendant landowners' argument that plaintiff worker's injuries, including a lacerated thumb, were not proximately caused by a gravity-related force when her unsecured, 12-foot ladder moved, causing her to lose balance at a height of nine feet and to grab onto an overhead air-duct brace as she slipped down two rungs of the ladder, lacks merit ( see e.g. Montalvo v. J. Petrocelli Constr., Inc., 8 AD3d 173; Lacey v. Turner Constr. Co., 275 AD2d 734). Unrefuted evidence that the unsecured ladder moved, combined with evidence that no other safety devices were provided to plaintiff, warranted a finding that the owners were absolutely liable under Labor Law § 240 (1), notwithstanding claims of comparative negligence ( see Velasco v. Green-Wood Cemetery, 8 AD3d 88), or unsupported claims that plaintiff's conduct was the sole proximate cause of her injuries.