Work-Related Injury Cases
Falling Beam – Confidential Settlement in Tuscaloosa County.
David Marsh, Jeff Rickard, Dylan Scilabro and Susan Silvernail teamed up to help two young ironworkers who fell twenty feet to the concrete while working on a major construction project in Tuscaloosa. The fall left one with a life-long brain injury, and the second will never walk again due to the injury to his spinal cord. While the general contractor and other parties involved in the construction project wanted to blame our clients for the fall, we proved that the fall resulted from a defectively designed column and beam support system.
Construction Site Fall/Wrongful Death – Baldwin County, Alabama
Mike Beard settled a case for the family of an immigrant who died while working on a crew of day laborers who were framing a house under construction in Baldwin County. On the day he died, the laborer was standing on the top plates of the wall framing, erecting the last few trusses. The trusses started to collapse like dominos and he was thrown to the ground, where he suffered a fatal head injury. The collapse occurred because the temporary bracing that was required by the plans, specifications and city codes was not installed. Also our client was not provided with platforms to stand on or fall protection equipment as required by OSHA. Our client had worked in the flooring trade before this but he had no experience working above ground. The case was brought against the owner, developer and general contractor, who were one and the same for the construction of all houses within this subdivision, and showed a total disregard for worker safety.
Scaffold Collapse – Confidential Settlement In DeKalb County, Alabama
Jeff Rickard settled a case on behalf of the family of a man who was killed and another man who was seriously injured when the scaffold upon which they were working collapsed. The incident occurred in DeKalb County, Alabama, during the construction of a new elementary school. The deceased block mason and the injured laborer were working at a height of about 30 feet when the scaffold collapsed. The scaffolding was of a type commonly referred to as a “crank up” or “mast climber,” and it was owned and erected by their employer. Immediately prior to the scaffold’s collapse, it was struck by a piece of mobile lifting equipment operating by their boss. Jeff argued and proved that a properly erected scaffold would have withstood the equipment’s impact. Suit was brought against the job site general contractor who, pursuant to its contract with the property owners, had significant responsibility for job site safety.
Construction Site Fall – Confidential Settlement In Calhoun County, Alabama
Ben Ford reached a settlement for a roofer who fell three stories from a roof of a building under construction outside Anniston. He was wearing a safety harness attached to a lifeline when he fell. At the peak of the steeply sloped roof, his lifeline had been attached to a Spider clamp, which is a fall protection anchor with a large pin held in place by a smaller hairpin-style pin. The smaller pin came out. This allowed the larger pin to come free and release the lifelines.
Ben sued the manufacturer and distributer of the Spider roof clamp for defective design. Our client sustained multiple injuries in the fall, with the worst being fractures in the pelvic area. He also developed post-concussive syndrome from a concussion suffered in the fall.
On-The-Job Injury – $500,000 Verdict In Tuscaloosa County, Alabama
Derrick Mills and Jane Mauzy won a $500,000 jury verdict for a client who was badly hurt while on-the-job. The 42-year-old Tuscaloosa man was working as a driver for a trucking company. In August 2012, after successfully transporting a load to an assembly plant, our client opened the trailer doors and was struck by multiple heavy boxes full of auto parts. The case was about how the boxes were loaded into the trailer. At trial, Derrick and Jane proved that the company violated its own safety procedures in loading the truck.
Our client suffered neck and back injuries. He had to undergo multiple surgeries. He was not able to go back to work as a truck driver.
Construction Site Death – Confidential Settlement In Madison County, Alabama
David Marsh settled a case where a man died from an on-the-job fall through a rooftop. The laborer, who was an undocumented immigrant, was helping to put up a metal building in Huntsville when he fell through an opening for a skylight, landing on concrete 14 feet below. He did not know the opening was there; moreover, the opening was covered by a roofing membrane so it created a trap-door effect. The key issue in the case was the lack of fall protection equipment provided at the job site.
Construction Site Injury – Confidential Settlement In Franklin County, Alabama
Jeff Rickard settled a case for a young family man who was hurt on-the-job at a construction site. The case focused on the lack of safety precautions taken by a general contractor when cutting down a square steel column. That column fell and struck our client in the head. Despite the fact that he was wearing a hard hat, the impact caused a serious spinal cord injury, which resulted in partial paralysis. The client fought valiantly to learn to walk with assistance but he is not expected to walk again. The case focused on job site safety rules, regulations, communications and practices.
These recoveries and testimonials are not an indication of future results. Every case is different, and regardless of what friends, family or other individuals may say about what a case is worth, each case must be evaluated on its own facts and circumstances as they apply to the law. The valuation of a case depends on the facts, the injuries, the jurisdiction, the venue, the witnesses, the parties, and the testimony, among other factors. Furthermore, no representation is made that the quality of the legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.