NYC Construction Accident
Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP attorney obtained a settlement of $2,625,000.00 and partial reduction of a Worker’s Compensation lien for a 39-year-old Suffolk County laborer who was injured when a forklift operator dropped a large traffic barrier on him at a jobsite in Queens due to unsafe construction practices.
Our client’s crew had just finished pouring cement at the jobsite. A forklift operator who worked directly for the owner of the facility was bringing large traffic barriers over to guard the freshly poured cement when one of the barriers fell off the forks. Our client instinctively tried to deflect the 50-75 lb. barrier away from the concrete, reaching out with his arm.
The forklift operator testified that the barrier did not fall off completely, which contradicted both our client’s and his foreman’s testimony that the barrier fell off completely. The defendants argued that the incident was our client’s fault because he reached out with his arm to deflect the barrier. We rebutted this argument by establishing that the foreman’s testimony clearly established that the forklift operator failed to safely secure the traffic barriers from falling, thereby unnecessarily placing our client in harm’s way.
As a result of the incident, our client underwent five surgeries to the arm and hand and cannot return to work as a laborer. The doctors hired by the defense opined that our client’s injuries were resolved, not permanent, and that he could return to work.
While the plaintiff’s summary judgment motion based on Labor Law Section 240(1) was pending, the parties mediated the case and came to a highly favorable resolution for our client.