No Recovery For an Injury Sustained at a Trailer Where Work Was Not Performed

Lynch v. 99 Washington, LLC, 80 A.D.3d 977, 915 N.Y.S.2d 353 (N.Y. App. Div. 3d Dep’t 2011)

In Lynch, the plaintiff injured his knee when stepping out of a trailer on a job site onto a free-standing stairwell that was allegedly misaligned with the trailer.  He sued under New York Labor Law and advanced common law negligence theories.  The Appellate Division, Third Department, held that the defendant’s motion for summary judgment should have been granted on all claims, reasoning that because the plaintiff was not performing construction work when the injury occurred, recovery was not available under a statute providing a cause of action for work-related injuries.