Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP, Frank J. Lombardo obtained a settlement during a private mediation prior to the completion of discovery. The plaintiff was a 50-year-old, non-union laborer assigned to clean debris when he was struck by a concrete form beam that was being lowered by other workers. The plaintiff sustained a tear of the left medial meniscus requiring arthroscopic surgery and a herniated L5-S1 disc requiring a laminectomy and fusion.
The defense counsel alleged that the object was being lowered, and therefore the workers were not required to secure it. The defense also claimed that the plaintiff only presented at the emergency room with complaints of a bruise to his left thigh and had a pre-existing degenerative condition in both the knee and lumbar spine. In addition, they claimed that the plaintiff made an excellent recovery without any residual injury and was able to return to work. We countered these arguments by claiming that the accident aggravated the pre-existing degeneration and the plaintiff was more susceptible to injury, and the defendants were still responsible for the resulting injuries.