$2,250,000 Settlement for Back Injuries Sustained in Worksite Fall
Partners Stephen J. Murphy, David L. Scher, and Christina Mercado obtained the settlement during trial for a client who suffered disabling back and knee injuries.
Court and County
Supreme Court, New York County
Manhattan Construction Worker Hurt in On-The-Job Fall
Our client was a 27-year-old non-union construction worker who was employed to drill large holes for electrical and plumbing conduits being installed in a Wall Street high-rise. After a hole was drilled, carpenters hired by the building would cover them with plywood to prevent workers from falling through. However, on the day before our client’s accident, a piece of plywood on the 27th floor was replaced by fragile sheetrock.
Our client was on that poorly lit floor, searching for a hole that needed to be cut, when he turned a corner and heard a crack. He had broken through the hole inadequately covered with sheetrock, causing him to plummet 15 feet to the 26th floor. He landed on his right side, and pain exploded in his right knee and lower back.
Injuries to Back and Knee Disables Laborer from Future Construction Work
Our client was placed on a stretcher and taken to Bellevue Hospital. He began conservative care, but it was not effective in treating his pain. He eventually underwent discectomy and fusion surgery for his lumbar spine and surgery on his right knee. Still, his pain persisted, and his condition is only expected to worsen over time.
Unfortunately, our client’s injuries permanently disabled him from working in construction as he could no longer lift heavy objects or walk and stand for more than an hour. While it is possible that he could work in another profession if his medical condition improved, he lacked transferable skills which significantly diminished his potential future earnings. Paying for travel to costly medical appointments and taking care of his family while not working also strained our client financially.
Expert Witnesses Reveal Devastating Impact of Labor Law Section 240(1) Violation
Partners Stephen J. Murphy, David L. Scher, and Christina (Mark) Mercado submitted a Freedom of Information Act (FOIL) request to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), which investigated the construction site. The uncovered documents revealed that OSHA had fined the building for failing to provide proper hole covers, failing to do frequent inspections, and failing to provide a retraining program on the use of fall protection systems.
The defense argued that our client should have been wearing a harness, which would have prevented the fall. Our attorneys pushed back, arguing that while our client had been wearing a harness while cutting holes in the floor, he was not actively working on a hole at the time of the accident. This meant that our client was not responsible for his own fall.
Our attorneys provided strong evidence that the building owner and general contractor — who are tasked with providing safe conditions to prevent gravity related injuries under Labor Law 240(1) in New York State — were at fault. A judge agreed, granting our attorney’s motion for summary judgment. The case proceeded to a damages-only trial.
At trial, our medical experts opined that our client needed life-long treatment for his injuries. The defense’s experts disagreed, and it was up to our attorneys to show that these assessments were flawed. They found inconsistencies between the defense’s own experts, whose testimonies contradicted each other. They also noted that one of the experts gave an opinion without reviewing all relevant medical records, rendering his argument incomplete.
By obtaining trustworthy experts and discrediting the defense’s witnesses, our attorneys were able to successfully show the devastating impact of this accident on our client’s future. This case ended in a settlement during trial, providing our client with financial stability as he pursues additional treatment.
Settlement Amount
This case settled for $2,250,000.
Handling Attorneys
This case was handled by partners Stephen J. Murphy, David L. Scher, and Christina (Mark) Mercado.