Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP attorney Bill Hepner settled this case at his second mediation for a laborer who fell from a ladder while taking apart items in a ceiling of an office building. At the time of the accident, the plaintiff was also operating a grinding machine, which he was using to cut rods in the ceiling. The grinder kicked back, but the plaintiff fell because he was given inadequate fall protection – he should have been given a scaffold to safely do the job. Bill’s client had a shoulder arthroscopic surgery and a lumbar fusion. The defendants made a motion for summary judgment, claiming that the plaintiff was the sole proximate cause of his accident. They offered $225,000 at the first mediation, which Bill immediately rejected.
