12/19/19 – Jaiteh v. Hudson CBD Caton et. al.

On February 4, 2015, plaintiff alleged he was injured when he slipped and fell on a slippery/wet condition that formed on plywood at a construction site. He claimed violations of Labor Law. It was his claim that he suffered injury to his back and knee and that he was totally disabled from any work. At the time of the accident, plaintiff was working as a construction worker for JNP Contractors, Ltd. who was hired to install tile in the interior of the premises by the owners and general contractor Hudson CBD Caton, LLC, The Hudson Companies, Inc., The Hudson Companies Incorporated (“Hudson”) and Lettire Construction Corp., (“Lettire”) respectively.

At his deposition, plaintiff claimed that snow was allowed to accumulate on the plywood walkway causing the slippery condition. However, in an affidavit submitted on summary judgment, plaintiff alleges that he and his coworkers tracked snow onto the plywood walkway, causing a slippery condition to exist. According to his medical records, plaintiff told hospital personnel that he hurt his back when lifting bags of cement.

Kathleen M. Mulholland, trial counsel for Hudson and Lettire, argued at trial that it was questionable as to whether plaintiff’s accident happened, considering the three varying versions of events he had provided throughout litigation. Further, if any condition existed, it was caused and created by JNP. She also presented evidence that Lettire Construction regularly spread salt throughout the premises and that its foreman had observed the area of plaintiff’s alleged accident mere hours before and saw no wetness.

At the close of trial, the jury returned a verdict for the defendants.