$9,500,000 Recovered for Painter with Traumatic Brain Injuries in Westchester County Labor Law 240(1) Case

Partners Stephen J. Murphy and David L. Scher used Labor Law 240(1) to obtain the settlement for their client, who had fallen from an unsecured ladder

 

Court and County
Supreme Court, Westchester County

Unsecured Ladder Leads to Tragedy  

Our client, a 60-year-old painter just a few short years away from retirement, was hired by a contractor to paint an airport hangar in Dutchess County. Given the immense size of the hangar, the job would be tricky, requiring our client and his coworkers to use large extension ladders to reach the highest parts of the structure.

There were two extension ladders on the site. Our client and one of his coworkers were instructed to work on them simultaneously, rather than have one hold onto the bottom of the ladder while the other painted. Additionally, neither were told to wear a safety harness or tie off while on the ladder, leaving them unsecured as they worked more than 15 feet above ground.

As our client was working on one of the taller points, his coworker, working adjacent to him, noticed our client’s extension ladder began tipping to the right. Unable to do anything to stop it, he watched, horrified, as the ladder slid off the building, causing our client to fall with it.

Treating a Severe Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

Immediately after the fall, our client was rushed to the hospital, where he underwent emergency brain surgery to address multiple skull fractures with inter-cranial hemorrhaging and hematoma. Due to the severity of his brain injuries, he spent multiple weeks in a medically induced coma, and doctors were uncertain if he would ever wake up.

Thankfully, our client recovered enough to eventually be discharged to a rehabilitative facility, and later, to his own home, where he still lives under the constant care of his wife. But the impact of the injuries was devastating – no longer able to care for himself, he relies on his wife and a home health aide to eat, shower, move around, and perform other daily tasks. He has difficulty speaking and continues to suffer from other symptoms of traumatic brain injuries, including memory loss and cognitive issues.

This memory loss presented a problem common in many traumatic brain injury cases: our client could not remember the accident. The last thing he recalled before the hospital was working on the ladder, which meant that he wouldn’t be able to share his version of events. Instead, our attorneys would have to rely on solid evidence, reputable eyewitnesses, and strong arguments to win the case.

How We Fought for Our Client

Partners Stephen Murphy and David Scher promptly began their investigation into the accident. By talking to our client’s coworker and other people at the scene, they were quickly able to determine that the extension ladder had not been secured in any way. An eyewitness even claimed that the ladder had been placed on wet paint, which caused it to slip and eventually fall. This evidence led our attorneys to file their claim under New York Labor Law 240(1), casually known as the Scaffold Law.

Labor Law 240(1) protects workers from height and gravity-related risks, including falls and strikes from falling objects. It does so by requiring property owners and general contractors to provide workers with safety equipment and instruction that would mitigate the risk of a height-related accident. In this case, Murphy and Scher argued that the complete absence of safety precautions – no harnesses, no tie-offs, and no one to even hold down the bottom of the ladder – violated this law and put our client at risk.

The defense refuted these claims. They stated that the painters should have chosen to use a lift, which would have been much safer for elevated work.

Murphy and Scher weren’t deterred by the argument. They talked to other workers on the scene, who confirmed that there was no lift immediately available to our client. As such, he had no choice but to begin work using the ladder.

Challenges to Recovering Adequate Compensation

Though Murphy and Scher were confident in their evidence to support their Labor Law 240(1) claim, they knew they’d have to fight hard to recover an amount of damages commensurate with our client’s injuries. This was for two key reasons: the venue of the case and the age of our client.

The case would be handled in Westchester County, a conservative venue where cases tend to resolve for less than they would in other areas of New York. Murphy and Scher would need to provide solid proof that our client deserved the compensation they were seeking.

Additionally, our client’s age played a factor in his eligibility for damages. Though he was totally disabled from work after the accident, his lost future earnings were limited – he only had a few years left before retirement. The economic damages, then, were less than they would have been for a younger man, who may have lost decades of work rather than five.

Still, our attorneys were determined to provide for their client and his family, especially after dealing with such devastating injuries. Traumatic brain injuries take an immense toll on the plaintiff’s physical health, cognitive functioning, and daily mobility – not to mention the staggering economic costs of lifelong medical care from a facility or home health aide.

Murphy and Scher started by hiring economic and medical experts to calculate the cost of our client’s future medical care and other expenses. They filmed a “day-in-the-life” video of our client to show insurance adjusters just how drastically our client’s life had changed since the accident (and to highlight the amount of assistance and care he now requires).

Finally, they also filed a loss of consortium claim on behalf of our client’s wife. Loss of consortium claims seek to compensate the spouses of personal injury victims for the non-economic costs of an accident, including loss of companionship, affection, and assistance in day-to-day family tasks.

Ultimately, our attorneys prevailed, and the case settled for $9,500,000 at mediation. The settlement would help ensure our client always receives the care he needs, and though no amount of money can bring back his old life, the settlement amount can hopefully help him and his family forge ahead with a new one.

Settlement Amount

This case was settled for $9,500,000.

Handling Attorneys

This case was handled by Partners Stephen J. Murphy and David L. Scher.