Largest Reported NJ Personal Injury Settlement during the Court’s 2022-2023 term

Security Officer Trips on Sidewalk Under Construction $3 Million Dollar Settlement

A security officer from New Jersey tripped and fell on a New York City sidewalk under construction, injuring his right arm. Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. partner Marc C. Saperstein proved that the property owner and construction contractor were negligent in failing to properly maintain a safe construction site and secured a $3 million dollar settlement.

The security officer walked under scaffolding surrounding a sidewalk where cobblestone was being installed. He tripped and fell off the curb, landing on his right elbow.

Our client went to the hospital emergency department where he was treated and released. He sustained an elbow fracture and was prescribed pain medicine. He followed up with an orthopedic surgeon who ordered an MRI, which showed an effusion, but no other abnormalities. Our client underwent an ulnar nerve transposition subcutaneous elbow surgery and physical therapy for five months. In addition, he underwent two stellate ganglion blocks, and platelet plasma injections for right arm nerve transposition.

Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. partner Marc C. Saperstein and his team retained medical experts that concluded, amongst his other injuries, that our client suffered from complex regional pain syndrome (previously known as RSD), ulnar neuropathy, and epicondylitis causally related to the fall.

The husband and father continued to suffer pain in his right arm and limitations in his hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder. He is limited in his activities of daily living and helping to care for his two children.

Steven Cohen, the Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, P.C. Chairman of the Worker’s Compensation Section, filed an accompanying worker’s compensation claim and successfully handled that case separately.

Do you or someone you know have similar injuries or circumstances to this one? Our dedicated legal team of over 25 attorneys is here to help. Call now for a free case evaluation or reach out online and we’ll call you back.

Medical Glossary:

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A broad term describing excess and prolonged pain and inflammation that follows an injury to an arm or leg

Depression: a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act

Effusion: an escape of fluid into a body cavity

Epicondylitis: a painful inflammation of tendons surrounding an epicondyle—the area surrounding a bone

MRI: magnetic resonance imaging; a medical examination that obtains an image of the organs and tissues in your body

Platelet Plasma Injection: injections of a concentration of a patient’s own platelets to accelerate the healing of injured tendons, ligaments, muscles, and joints

Stellate Ganglion Block: an injection of local anesthetic into the front of the neck; used to diagnose the cause of pain in the face, head, arms, and chest

Subcutaneous Ulnar Nerve Transposition: a surgical treatment for ulnar neuropathy at the elbow; moving the ulnar nerve to a position where it is not irritated or pinched

Ulnar Nerve: a large, superficial nerve of the arm that passes around the elbow in a groove between the bones

Ulnar Neuropathy: a disorder involving the ulnar nerve; causes numbness