Court Finds Violations of New York's Labor Law, Implicating Potential Liability for Worker Injured at Globalfoundries, Powers & Santola, LLP, Reports

    ALBANY, NY, November 06, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- A judge in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York has found that a semiconductor manufacturer and its New York-based general contractor failed to provide adequate safety equipment to an electrician who fell into a recessed area while performing work in the building's "air chase room," reports the law firm of Powers & Santola, LLP.

In the recently issued 23-page decision, Roberts v. Globalfoundries U.S., Inc. and M+W U.S., Inc., (Case No. 1:13-CV-1169 [TJM/RFT]), Senior U.S. District Court Judge Thomas J. McAvoy found that the manufacturer, Globalfoundries, and the general contractor, M+W U.S. Inc., violated sections 240(1) and 241(6) of New York's Labor Law. M+W is headquartered in Watervliet, New York.

Section 240(1) of New York's Labor Law was enacted over a century ago. It protects construction workers from being injured by falls from elevations. The law provides zero tolerance for injuries due to a lack of adequate safety devices.

Section 241(6) of New York's Labor Law requires owners and contractors to provide "reasonable and adequate protection and safety" for workers in their employ.

As described in Judge McAvoy's decision, the air chase room was designed for air circulation into an adjacent clean room. The air chase room contained 36-inch wide concrete ledges that encompassed a series of approximately 10-by-10-foot square, recessed areas with a subfloor approximately three feet below. Because of the configuration of the recessed areas, the air chase room resembled a honeycomb.

According to court documents, in order to enter his work area, the electrician, Mr. James Roberts, would walk along the concrete ledges. However, he would have to navigate around a vertical steel column that sat on one of the concrete ledges and reduced the width of the ledge to approximately 15 inches.

While in the performance of his duties at the jobsite, Mr. Roberts traversed along the horizontal concrete ledge of the air chase room and attempted to navigate around the vertical structural steel column. His shoulder bumped against the column, causing him to lose his balance and fall into the adjacent recessed area and suffer serious injuries, as the decision describes.

Testimony by Globalfoundries' principal safety engineer and M&W's project manager indicated that, in order to prevent workers from falling into the recessed areas of the air chase room, a handrail along the leading concrete ledge should have been provided. However, it was undisputed that neither Globalfoundries nor M+W used or provided their employees with any such safety devices.

In finding that Globalfoundries and M+W had violated the relevant provisions of New York's Labor Law, Judge McAvoy drew comparisons with the decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York in the case of Lawler v. Globalfoundries U.S., Inc., and M+W U.S., Inc. (Case No. 1:12-CV-0327 [LEK/RFT]).

Attorney Margie A. Soehl of Powers & Santola, LLP, represented the plaintiff in Lawler and the plaintiff, Mr. Roberts, in this case.

As in Lawler, Mr. Roberts suffered an injury after falling from an elevation at the Globalfoundries construction site. The court in Lawler found that, when a worker is injured as the result of an elevation-related risk and not provided with adequate safety devices to prevent such injury, liability may be imposed.

According to the decision by Judge McAvoy, questions of fact still remain in Mr. Roberts' case which, by law, must be decided by a jury. A trial date has not been scheduled at this time.

About Powers & Santola, LLP

Founded in 1987, the law firm of Powers & Santola, LLP, assists individuals in Albany and Onondaga counties and throughout New York State who have suffered serious, catastrophic injuries due to the carelessness of others. The firm primarily focuses on medical malpractice, delayed cancer diagnosis and construction site accidents. Ms. Soehl is a partner with the law firm and one of the region's few bilingual, English-Spanish speaking attorneys. The firm's main office is located at 39 North Pearl Street, Suite 6, Albany, NY 12207 (local phone 518-465-5995). Please contact the firm to learn more.

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