Attorneys Carmine Goncalves and Erin K. Hurley obtained a settlement of $3 million — plus a full waiver of the workers' compensation lien — for a 32-year-old Brazilian concrete worker. The client was seriously injured while standing on two stacked concrete forms. He attempted to take control of a 77 lb. brace from his co-worker who was above him on a ladder when the weight of the brace caused the forms to move, causing our client to lose his balance and fall backward onto another concrete form. He injured his back, right shoulder, and right hip. Due to the severity of his injuries, our client had lumbar fusion surgery and arthroscopic surgeries to repair the damage to his shoulder and hip. Defendants disputed the severity of our client's injuries and obtained surveillance video, which they used to allege that our client had made an excellent recovery. Carmine and Erin countered this by conceding that the plaintiff had benefitted from his operative procedures but would still suffer exacerbations and remissions in his condition throughout his life expectancy.
