11/18/2025 – Pedro Ramirez v. 255 West 108th Street Corp.

In this Labor Law 240(1) action, plaintiff fell off a defective ladder, fifteen feet to the surface below, while working on a building in Manhattan undergoing renovations on April 19, 2013. Plaintiff was awarded summary judgment on the Labor Law 240(1) claim. A trial on the issue of damages ensued in Supreme Court, New York County, before Judge Clynes. At trial, Andrea Camacho proved to the jury, via expert testimony and cross-examination, that none of the injuries allegedly sustained to plaintiff’s cervical and lumbar spine (resulting in cervical fusion of C4-C5 and lumbar fusion of L4-L5-S1) were casually related to the accident. As such, the jury dismissed plaintiff’s complaint. Plaintiff perfected an appeal to the Appellate Division, First Department. Ms. Camacho successfully argued in opposition to plaintiff’s appeal, convincing the panel of Justices that the jury was correct to question plaintiff’s credibility and that the jury reasonably relied on valid evidence calling into question whether plaintiff sustained any acute trauma from the fall. On November 18, 2025, the Appellate Division, First Department, unanimously affirmed the jury verdict dismissing plaintiff’s complaint, based on the absence of proximate cause.