A construction worker suffered serious injuries on the job when a slab weighing 3,000 pounds fell on him. On May 28, the worker settled his workplace injury lawsuit against the general contractor responsible for the site and three other defendants for $16.3 million.
The 47-year-old man was working in the basement of Philadelphia’s Lafayette Building, which is 106 years old, when the accident occurred. The man and a coworker were placing a shore pole in the basement of the building under a base stone when the stone fell. Crews worked for almost 20 minutes to remove the stone from its position on top of the man’s body. The accident left him with an amputated right leg and shattered left foot.
The suit placed the blame for the accident on the site’s contractor. It asserted that the company was to blame because it failed to follow proper safety procedures to secure the stone after workers demolished the sidewalk and began to put steel foundations into place. The man has been confined to a wheel chair. He now also suffers from post traumatic stress syndrome due to the accident.
The injured worker in this story used his legal rights to recover compensation for his workplace injuries from his employer and others who did not provide proper worker safety on this construction site. Many other workers who have been injured at work may also have the right to seek compensation for their injuries. An attorney may be able to help an injured worker determine what damages they have suffered, gather evidence to prove their employer or another party was blame for causing their injuries and pursue a settlement that fairly compensates the employee for their injuries.
Source: The Pennsylvania Record, “Injured construction worker reaches $16.3 million settlement“, Jim Boyle, May 30, 2014