Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., won a $2 million settlement for an electrician who suffered serious injuries after falling from an eight-foot ladder while working at a bank in Newark, New Jersey, after litigating the case in the Superior Court of New Jersey, Essex County.
The employee had spent the previous week completing electrical work for a new HVAC unit and returned to finish wiring the system’s smoke detectors. While working above a drop ceiling, he used an eight-foot ladder provided by the bank that he had used several times before. The ladder became unstable, causing him to fall backward and strike his head. He does not remember the fall, but he was found unconscious and bleeding, with the ladder bent out of shape, and was taken to the hospital.
The fall caused a traumatic brain injury, neck and lower back injuries, vision and hearing problems, tinnitus, permanent loss of smell and a serious tendon injury to his small finger that required surgery. The injuries caused a major change in his daily life. Prior to the accident, handled much of the work around his home, including mowing the lawn, painting, cleaning gutters and other maintenance. After the fall, he could no longer do many of those things, and his wife became his full-time caregiver. Medical experts later concluded that several of his conditions were permanent.
Partner Marc C. Saperstein, Attorney Matthew Schroeder, Esq. and their Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C., litigation team investigated how the workplace fall occurred, and who was responsible. The firm secured statements from employees who were present, gathered testimony showing how the injuries affected the client’s life and hired medical and safety experts to review the evidence and author their expert witness reports in preparation for trial.
The investigation also focused on the age and condition of the ladder. An expert found that the older step ladder had been made before stricter safety standards were adopted and concluded that it should have been replaced sooner. This evidence helped show how the unsafe ladder contributed to the accident and strengthened the client’s claim.
By combining the ladder evidence, witness statements, expert findings and proof of the lasting impact of the injuries, Partner Marc C. Saperstein, Matthew Schroeder and the litigation team won a $2 million settlement for the injured electrician.
Personal injury claims from ladders or scaffolds are particularly complicated since they can be a product liability claim against the manufacturer of a defective product; or as the case here, against the property owner who permitted the use of a defective product. Workers that suffer on-the-job related injuries also are eligible to bring a workers compensation claim for their temporary and permanent injuries, and wage benefits regardless of fault.
If you were seriously injured by unsafe equipment while working in New Jersey, contact Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. to speak with a New Jersey personal injury attorney about your legal options.
