Construction Accident - Non-Union Laborer Suffers Fall From Ladder
WRSMH attorney Kenneth Halperin obtained a settlement in the amount of $450,000 for a 47-year-old man who was injured in an accident on a construction site. The accident in question occurred while the plaintiff, a non-union laborer, was in the process of ascending a ten foot-high ladder affixed to the side of a building. As plaintiff was ascending the ladder it turned approximately 45 degrees to the left causing the plaintiff to lose his balance and fall approximately eight (8) feet to the ground. Pictures taken shortly after the accident confirmed that it was tied off both on top and bottom. Defendants and their expert contended that the ladder was properly secured and could not have turned in the matter plaintiff alleged.
Kenneth Halperin rebutted this argument by establishing that they could not prove that anyone physically inspected the ropes immediately after the accident, let alone tested whether or not they had loosened over the course of the day as the accident happened near the close of business.
As a result of the accident, plaintiff sustained a torn meniscus in his knee which required arthroscopic surgery. He also sustained herniated discs in his neck and bulging discs in his lower back, which required epidural injections. The matter settled at a mediation while both parties motions for summary judgment were pending.