TOPIC: Workplace Injuries

RESULT: $ 2.3 million settlement, reached at the close of the plaintiff’s case. The settlement consisted of $ 1,950,000 from CBS Broadcasting, and $ 350,000 from Alexander Wolf & Son.

INJURY: The plaintiff sustained a shattered left calcaneus, or heel. He underwent reconstructive surgery, and suffered chronic pain thereafter. In December, 2002, he underwent a second surgery, in an effort to reduce his pain. All hardware was removed, and the subtalar joint, between the top of the calcaneus and the talus bone above was fused. He developed extensive arthritis in the left ankle, and his prognosis was and is guarded. He then developed meniscus tears due to an altered gait, and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in 2004.

At the time of the accident, plaintiff was earning approximately $ 90,000 per year, with additional benefits. He has not worked since the accident and his job prospects, as both plaintiff’s and defendant’s vocational experts agreed, were limited in earning potential.

Workers’ compensation lien in excess of $ 100,000, reduced pursuant to the Kelly decision. Loss of earnings were projected in excess of $ 2 million.

SUMMARY: The male plaintiff, then 39 years of age, was working as a union journeyman for Petrocelli Electric, Inc. at the CBS facility in New York, N.Y.

The jobsite was owned by CBS Broadcasting, Inc. and was part of a Y2K power upgrade project. CBS hired Alexander Wolf & Son to perform the structural work and Petrocelli Electric to perform the electrical work.

The plaintiff was working upon a mezzanine platform, located between the basement and lobby floors. The mezzanine ended in a platform that was approximately 12 feet high and overlooked the basement hallway below; cinderblock walls of the hallway extended outward, perpendicular to the ends of the platform. At the edge of the platform, Alexander Wolf & Son had recently installed a double-set of swinging doors which opened inward, and were double-wide to permit delivery of large equipment. Prior to the doors’ installation, the platform was open-ended. On the adjacent wall, on the left side of the platform, was an affixed, permanent iron ladder which had been used to ascend and descend from the platform, long before the doors were ever installed. On the date of the accident, the ladder was still being used by workers on the mezzanine, who would climb onto the ladder, through the open doors.

At the time of the accident, the plaintiff was leaving the mezzanine, to get equipment located on the basement level. Both of the two staircases which provided access to the mezzanine (in addition to the ladder) were blocked with equipment and workers from other trades. The plaintiff used the ladder. The doors which opened onto the platform’s edge were chocked open. As plaintiff began to descend, the door nearest the ladder came loose, either due to its having been struck by a passerby, or of its own volition. Since door closure devices had not as yet been installed, as plaintiff alleged the heavy door swung freely, striking Parker as he was midway between the platform and the ladder, and propelling him to the ground below.

COURT: New York Cty. Sup. Ct. New York