Carpenter Fall 4' Off Scaffold & Collects $900,000 plus waiver of $364,000 WC Lien
E.C., a 40 year old Spanish speaking carpenter, was working building a custom luxury home on Chicago's Northshore, when a makeshift scaffold suddenly pulled away from the wall to which it was attached, and collapsed. E.C. suffered serious fractures to his leg and ankle. E.C. filed a Workers' compensation claim against his employer, the carpentry sub-contractor for the project. Another law firm handled the Workers' Compensation claim and asked the construction accident attorneys at Lipkin & Higgins to investigate a potential personal injury lawsuit. Under Illinois law, an injured worker cannot sue his employer, and his right to recover injury benefits is limited to a Workers' Compensation Case. As the entity which built the scaffold, E.C.'s employer was clearly responsible for his injuries. The issue was whether any other entity was also legally responsible.
Lipkin & Higgins claimed that the scaffold was patently defective, as it was attached to a 2 x 6 plank nailed into a wall without any way of knowing whether a secure attachment had been achieved. We further claimed that the scaffold would have been recognized as defective by anyone with knowledge of safe construction practices. The home project was superintended by a representative of the general contractor who was onsite on a daily basis including the day plaintiff was injured. The superintendent however, had no training of OSHA or related safety standards, nor did E.C.'s employer. Lipkin & Higgins maintained that the general contractor was legally responsible for E.C.'s accident as its superintendent saw him working on the scaffold before it collapsed, the superintendent should have known that the scaffold was defective, and should have insisted that the carpenters erect a safe scaffold. Had the superintendent been properly trained in safe construction practices, we argued that E.C.'s accident would not have happened.
E.C. had two surgeries on his lower leg and was told by his doctor that he could not return to work as a carpenter in light of his difficulty climbing a ladder or walking on uneven surfaces. In addition, his doctor believed E.C. would need to undergo additional surgery sometime in the future. E.C.'s past employment history was limited to working physical labor type jobs. Future work available to him was expected to pay substantially less than what he had been earning while working as a carpenter.
With trial looming in less than two weeks, the defendant suggested that the parties mediate the case, an effort to negotiate settlement outside of the courtroom setting. At mediation, the defendant offered and E.C. accepted a $900,000.00 settlement, plus waiver of a $364,000.00 Workers' Compensation lien.
