Andrew Kaye Secures Summary Judgment in Favor of Electrical Subcontractor in Catastrophic Electrocution Case.

 

Plaintiff, an employee of the general contractor, was standing atop a metal step ladder when an exposed wire came in contact with his ladder. Based upon a post-accident investigation, it was determined that someone had stripped a fluorescent light, plugging the stripped wires of the light into an extension cord allowing the exposed wires to meet the metal ladder.  At the time of the accident, plaintiff was installing metal framing in the ceiling, so when he grabbed the ceiling frame, he completed the circuit resulting in his death by electrocution.

Plaintiff’s estate sued the building owner and the tenant and our client, the electrical subcontractor. The plaintiff’s employer, the general contractor, was impled as a third-party defendant due to plaintiff’s grave injury.

On our motion for summary judgment, the Court agreed with our argument that our client, the electrician contractor, was not a proper Labor Law defendant as we did not direct, control, or supervise the work being performed by plaintiff. The Court also agreed with our argument that it was plaintiff’s employer who was responsible for electrical safety on the job site and that our client did not cause, create or have notice of any alleged defect, successfully achieving dismissal of all common law claims.