DASILVA v. A.J. CONTRACTING CO

It is uncontradicted that plaintiff, while performing demolition work, was injured when the unsecured A-Frame ladder he was standing on was struck by a section of pipe he had cut, causing him to fall. Plaintiff had not been provided with safety devices, nor was anyone holding the ladder. The failure to properly secure a ladder so as to hold it steady and erect during its use constitutes a violation of Labor Law § 240 Lab. (1) ( Kijak v. 330 Madison Ave. Corp., 251 A.D.2d 152). Here, the absence of adequate safety devices was a substantial and, given the nature of the work being performed, foreseeable cause of plaintiff's fall and injury ( see, LaFleur v. Consolidated Edison Co., 221 A.D.2d 250). The striking of the ladder by a pipe cut during the ongoing demolition was not such an extraordinary event as to constitute a superceding cause and, accordingly, it cannot be said that plaintiff's actions in cutting the pipe were the sole proximate cause of his injuries ( see, Wasilewski v. Museum of Modern Art, 260 A.D.2d 271.)

Concur — Nardelli, J. P., Williams, Tom, Wallach and Andrias, JJ.