WRSMH attorney Bill Hepner obtained a $1,750,000.00 settlement for our client, a member of the Local 25 Electrical Union, who fell from a ladder on the job. A few months after the accident, our client had a carpal tunnel release surgery, but did not have a cervical fusion surgery for the pain in his neck until three years after the accident. The defendants vehemently denied the need for his neck surgery was in any way connected to the accident, especially since he did not complain to a doctor about pain in his neck until a month after the accident and waited three years to have surgery. Also, the plaintiff had gone back to work, starting his own small company as a handyman, claiming he could not return to his higher-paying union job due to the injury. The defendants, who videotaped the plaintiff doing physical labor, rejected the claim that he could not return to his former job. They claimed, therefore, that they should not be responsible for future lost earning capacity. Bill Hepner obtained summary judgment on liability, and conducted two mediations on the case prior to the time it was scheduled for trial. The defendants were resistant to paying what we believed our client deserved; however, a few days prior to jury selection, Bill was able to obtain a settlement. Despite the numerous negative aspects, our preparation of the case throughout the litigation convinced the defendants they had significant exposure if the jury went our way.
