Construction Site Accident - Trip and Fall
WRSMH attorney Kenneth Halperin obtained a settlement in the amount of $1,060,000 for a 42-year-old cable installer who fell from a pole.
The plaintiff was injured while performing work on a cable wire for a residential customer in a nearby building. After working on the wire, the plaintiff descended the pole when he tripped and fell from one of the rungs.
In a suit against multiple parties including the owner of the wire, we argued that the New York State Labor Law was applicable because at the time of the accident the plaintiff was performing an alteration under the meaning of the law. Defendants argued that plaintiff’s work was a relatively quick job that took only minutes to perform and constituted nothing more than general maintenance. If that was correct, the plaintiff’s case could have been dismissed. Motions for summary judgment by plaintiff and defendants were both denied and appeals were pending at the time of the settlement.
As a result of the accident, the plaintiff sustained multiple injuries including a herniated disc in his lower back that required surgery and a partially torn ACL ligament in his left knee that required arthroscopic surgery.