$1.55 MILLION SETTLEMENT FOR 59 YEAR OLD WORKER INJURED AT CONSTRUCTION SITE

November, 2007

On April 11, 2006, the plaintiff (the identities of the parties remain confidential by agreement) was on a job site in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, where he was employed by a subcontractor to erect a fence around the perimeter of a deep pit. While examining construction drawings which had been placed on the hood of his truck, a large crane, operated by an employee of the general contractor, went out of control. The crane violently struck the rear of plaintiff’s truck, pushing the truck forward so as to strike the plaintiff and force him over the edge of the pit, falling 18 feet to the concrete below where he lay bleeding and unconscious.

Feldman Shepherd attorneys Alan M. Feldman and Edward S. Goldis were retained by the client and his wife to recover for their injuries and losses. A lawsuit was promptly filed against the general contractor and the company responsible for maintenance of the crane. All available evidence, including video and still photographs taken by responding fire companies and other official investigators, was collected, and a prominent expert witness in the area of crane operation and crane safety was hired to prepare a report and testify on plaintiff's behalf at trial.

Following the completion of depositions of the plaintiff and his wife, the crane operator and other witnesses, the case proceeded to mediation. A comprehensive mediation memo described plaintiff's injuries, which included compression fractures in his back, and fractures of the bones of his left foot, which interfered with plaintiff’s ability to walk normally. While plaintiff did not have surgery, it was contended that as a result of his discomfort and physical limitations, he was unable to return to his employment. The defendants argued that the plaintiff's limitations were caused not by the accident, but by pre-existing medical conditions including diabetes and a heart condition.

At the conclusion of an all-day mediation before a retired Federal Magistrate Judge, which took place less than a year after the case was filed, the defendants agreed to settle with the plaintiff, now age 61, for the sum of $1.55 million.