Opinion
November 23, 1999
Order, Supreme Court, New York County (Elliott Wilk, J.), entered October 19, 1998, which, in an action by plaintiff worker against defendant product manufacturer to recover for work site injuries that required the complete amputation of plaintiff's right ring finger and partial amputation of his right pinky finger, denied the motion of third-party defendant, plaintiff's employer, for summary judgment dismissing the manufacturer's third-party complaint for lack of a "grave injury" within the meaning ofWorkers' Compensation Law § 11 , unanimously affirmed, with costs.
George N. Statfeld for plaintiff-respondent.
Courtney E. Murphy for plaintiff-respondent.
Eleanor R. Goldman for defendant-appellant.
ELLERIN, P.J., ROSENBERGER, TOM, ANDRIAS, BUCKLEY, JJ.
To read the phrase "loss of multiple fingers" to mean, as the employer urges, a total loss of multiple fingers would be to render superfluous the word "total" selectively used before the phrase "loss of use . . . of a . . . hand". Had the Legislature intended that the "loss of multiple fingers" must be "total" in order to qualify as a grave injury, it would have used that word immediately before that phrase.
THIS CONSTITUTES THE DECISION AND ORDER OF SUPREME COURT, APPELLATE DIVISION, FIRST DEPARTMENT.