$1,000,000 Settlement: Full $1,000,000 Insurance Policy Secured For Worker With Multiple Fractures

Our client was a 42-year-old construction worker who fractured his left leg while trying to install a portico for a single family house. We argued our client fell due to a ladder that was too short and the lack of a place to anchor a safety harness. This case was pursued under New York Labor Law 240(1), also known as the Scaffold Law.

Court and County

Supreme Court, Bronx County

Plaintiff Description

Our client was a construction laborer who lived in Westchester County and was 42 years old at the time of the accident.

Accident Description

Plaintiff was tasked with installing a portico above a door during the construction of a single family house. To elevate himself over a hole in the ground, Plaintiff was instructed to lay a 2×6 wooden plank across two other planks that extended through the building. Plaintiff had been specifically told by his foreman not to secure these planks down because the wood he would have had to use was too expensive.

Our client remembers stepping on the plank-and the next thing he remembers is waking up in the hospital. He had fallen about 10-12 feet into a hole filled with rocks. There were ladders provided, but these were only 8 feet high and were not sufficiently tall enough to be placed in the hole and allow for our client to perform the work he was hired for.

The defense later claimed that Plaintiff did in fact have a safety harness available and could have avoided his fall had he tied off securely as instructed. We argued that no proper tie off (or anchorage) points were available to our client, thus this accident was pursuant under New York Labor Law 240(1), also known as the Scaffold Law.

Due to his injuries, our client had still been unable to return to work at the time of settlement.

Injuries

In his fall, our client suffered a left leg fracture which had to be treated with the installment of an intramedullary rod; he also fractured his left arm which required an open reduction and internal fixation to repair fractured wrist bones.

After these initial surgeries the client participated in extensive physical therapy. He also underwent a lumbar injection and a round of trigger point therapy injection. Later, he began to complain of numbness and trembling in his injured left arm and was later diagnosed with a pinched nerve; a follow-up surgery, a reconstruction of the distal radial ulnar joint and left ulnar nerve transposition, was scheduled.

Settlement

The Defendant property owner was a company that went out of business shortly following the accident. The Defendant only possessed $1 million of insurance coverage. Despite that, we were able to settle this case for the full $1 million policy and while the case was still in its discovery phase – years away from a potential trial date.

Handling Attorneys

Partners Stephen J. Murphy and David L. Scher

Injured in a fall? Call 212-736-5300 or contact us online to receive a free legal consultation and speak with an experienced personal injury lawyer about your case.