$1,325,000 For Worker With Lacerations from Falling Glass

Court and County

Supreme Court, New York County

Accident Description

Our client’s company was hired to replace a glass panel that had shattered, which formed part of a storefront in Sag Harbor, New York. While our client and his co-workers were removing pieces of the glass panel, one piece suddenly fell down onto our client’s left forearm. We sued the building’s owner, claiming that it had violated Labor Law Section 240(1) by failing to properly secure the piece of glass that fell. The defense made a motion to dismiss the case, claiming that the type of work being performed was not substantial enough to be covered by the Law Labor at all. We opposed and ultimately prevailed in that the court accepted our argument that this work should indeed have had the protections of the Law.

Damages Description

Our client suffered a severe laceration of his left, non-dominant arm, including damage to the flexor muscles, nerves and arteries in his forearm. He underwent a surgery where those structures were repaired, and a subsequent wound closure procedure. The surgery and physical therapy that followed led to a significant recovery, but our client was left with some remaining permanent deficits of strength and range of motion in his left hand. By the time of settlement, our client’s medical treatment was complete and he was attending college to obtain a degree in computer science.

Settlement

Well before trial, our firm secured a $1,325,000 settlement for our client.

Attorneys

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