Trying a Labor Law Case With a Sole Proximate Cause Defense

In their Trial Advocacy column, Ben Rubinowitz, a partner at Gair, Gair, Conason, Steigman, Mackauf, Bloom & Rubinowitz, and Evan Torgan, a member of Torgan & Cooper, write: While Labor Law Section 240 was written to protect workers in dangerous occupations at all costs - even from themselves - it has instead become a statute giving rise to the recalcitrant worker/sole proximate cause defense, allowing for many more defense verdicts. While Labor Law cases still provide a strong basis for statutory liability, they must be tried more artfully and carefully than ever before.

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