Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP attorney Michael Zisser obtained a $2,400,000 settlement for a non-union laborer injured in a fall. Our client, a 43-year-old, non-union laborer, fell off a 10-foot A-frame ladder while performing exterior masonry work at a construction project in Manhattan. We were confident that had this case proceeded to the end of discovery we would have obtained summary judgment on liability pursuant to Labor Law Sect. 240 (1).
As a result of the accident, the plaintiff sustained multiple injuries, the most serious of which was a herniated disc in his lumbar spine that required him to undergo a lumbar fusion at L4-5. Michael was able to settle this Queens County Labor Law case for $2,400,000 before depositions were even completed, and despite the fact that the defendants were claiming that our client had two prior back injuries that were the cause of his need for surgery. We countered this argument by establishing that prior to this accident he was able to perform construction work. We also demonstrated through medical proof that this accident aggravated his pre-existing condition and was the sole cause for his need to have the lumbar fusion.