Two Foot Fall Held to Be Labor Law § 240(1)

In Soltero v. City of New York, the First Department held that a plaintiff can recover under Labor Law § 240(1) for a fall from a two-foot ledge in a subway tunnel. The plaintiff was a member of a team engaged in replacing old train tracks when she fell from the hosed-down and slippery ledge. Defendants did not dispute the fall or that the task required the plaintiff to be at an elevation, but did argue unsuccessfully that there was a question of fact about whether the wall was less than two feet tall.