In Carpio v. Tishman Const. Corp., 240 AD2d 234, 658 NYS2d 919 (1st Dept. 1997) the court confronted the issue of whether falling from a flat surface on the third floor of a building to a level below is the type of injury that Labor Law 240 (1) was intended to prevent. In Carpio, the plaintiff was employed as a painter on a project at a United States post office facility. His appointed task required that he walk along a concrete floor while painting the ceiling with a roller. While he was focused overhead, he stumbled backward into a hole in the floor, dropping three feet below the surface, up to his groin. The hole, known as a riser or a sleeve, was approximately a foot wide and was uncovered to allow piping to be extended to the floor below. Partial summary judgment on liability was granted to the plaintiff. The Carpio Court held that the plaintiff was a protected person pursuant to Labor Law 240 (1), because the work itself involved risks related to differences in elevation. As the Carpio Court explained, there existed a risk of injury because of the difference in elevation between the level where the work was required (the third floor) and a lower level (the bottom of the piping shaft)."