Workplace Accident - Struck by Object Injury
WRSMH attorney Kenneth Halperin obtained a settlement in the amount of $500,000 for a 44-year-old construction worker who had an accident on a construction site.
The accident in question occurred during renovation of the exterior of a building. Plaintiff, who was a helper, was asked to assist two other workers in moving a scaffold. As they were moving the scaffold, an unsecured plank fell and struck plaintiff on his hand and arm. As a result of the accident, plaintiff underwent arthroscopic surgery on his shoulder and surgery on his hand for a compressed nerve.
The parties appeared for a mediation and the defendants offered $250,000 to settle the case, which was rejected. At the time of the mediation, the defendants had served a motion to dismiss plaintiff’s case contending he was the cause of the accident. We served a motion for summary judgment pursuant to Labor Law 240(1) contending that the plaintiff was struck by an unsecured falling object and that this was a violation of the Labor Law. The Court sided with us and granted our motion. Thereafter, the case settled for $500,000.
Plaintiff was out of work for approximately one year and then returned to work earning approximately the same salary as before the accident.