Derion v. Buffalo Crushed Stone, Inc.
The plaintiff, a truck driver for Anastasi Trucking, Inc., a subcontractor on a construction project, sustained injuries when his dump truck hit a pothole on a roadway owned and maintained by the defendant. This occurred while he was en route to the defendant's quarry. The central legal question involved the applicability of Labor Law § 200, which codifies an owner's common-law duty to provide a safe workplace. The court affirmed the lower court's decision, determining that the plaintiff's complaint did not fall within Labor Law § 200 because the "safe place of work" envisioned by the statute does not extend to the roadway leading to the defendant's business. The order of the Supreme Court, Erie County, was unanimously affirmed.