Verdicts & Settlements - Settlement for Carpenter Laborer

Accident Lawyer Wins $800,000 Settlement for Carpenter Laborer

On 4/20/05 a 21 year old carpenter was working as a carpentry laborer on a large construction project in Warminster Township, Pennsylvania. The general contractor on the project was defendant Erickson Construction. Erickson hired defendant Mega Construction to perform certain framing work. Mega in turn sub-contracted that framing work out to defendant Heavy Construction. Plaintiff’s boss was hired by Heavy Construction to perform the actual framing work.

At the time of the accident plaintiff was on the fifth floor of the building. He had been directed to unload the metal studs used in the framing of the building. A large crane type forklift would hoist the materials to the upper levels. Construction workers were directed to stand on the unguarded balconies and physically unload the materials from the forklift into the buildings. Evidence showed that it was not until after the accident that Erickson Construction required the subcontractors and their workers to utilize the fall protection devices.

The New Jersey injury lawyers that represented the worker argued this process of unloading the materials was unsafe and that it violated OSHA and other safety standards and was likely to cause injury to workers. Instead the workers should have been utilizing fall protection and the job site formen and low tier laborers should have been trained in safety and accident prevention. Under the law it was the responsibility of all contractors down the chain to see to it OSHA was complied with and fall protection was used.

While unloading the framing materials the forklift moved, knocking the worker off the balcony. He fell about 40 feet to the ground. He suffered severe injuries including a fractured leg which required surgical treatment, an amputated pinky finger, a broken wrist and brain injury. He went through a long recuperation, had to use a walker and rely on family members for basic daily living functions. He was out of work for over a year.

Gerald H. Clark of the Keefe Bartels Clark law firm in Red Bank filed suit on behalf of the injured worker in Monmouth County Superior Court. After extensive litigation the case settled for a total amount of $800,000.