$7,000,000 Settlement for Sandhog Worker Crushed by Falling Concrete Segments
Partners Jeffrey A. Block and S. Joseph Donahue obtained justice for their client, whose leg was crushed by nearly 30,000 pounds of concrete.
| Settlement Amount | $7,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Accident Location | Tunneling project in Orange County, New York |
| Court / Venue | Supreme Court, Orange County |
| Defendant | Construction site owners and general contractors |
| Accident Type | Construction accident involving a sandhog worker crushed by falling concrete tunnel segments nearly one mile underground |
| Injury | Open left leg fracture, severe bleeding, left meniscus tears, exacerbation of prior neck and lower back injuries, chronic pain, total disability from work, and injuries requiring multiple leg surgeries, wound debridement, hardware implantation, knee arthroscopy, total knee replacement, and lumbar fusion surgery |
| Case Categories | Construction accident; tunnel accident; sandhog injury; falling object accident; Labor Law 240 case; Orange County construction accident |
| Handling Attorneys | Jeffrey A. Block and S. Joseph Donahue |
Court and County
Supreme Court, Orange County
Construction Accident – Nearly One Mile Underground
Our client was a construction worker on a tunneling project in Orange County, New York. As a sandhog – a slang term for laborers who work underground on excavation, tunneling, or mining projects – he was helping build a tunnel that would supply water to New York City.
The accident occurred as our client was helping transport large concrete segments that would form the tunnels. An off-loader machine with three of these segments (each weighing about 10,000 pounds) was being used to move the concrete where it needed to go. Without warning, the machine failed, causing the forms to shift and fall directly onto our client’s leg, pinning him between the top segment and a steel beam.
Though all construction accidents can be life-threatening, sandhog accidents pose an extra hurdle: accessing timely medical care when working nearly one mile underground. Our client had to be extracted from where he was pinned, stabilized, and carried by stretcher to the nearest elevator. It was only once he was brought to the surface – which took over an hour – that he was seen by emergency medical personnel and airlifted to a nearby hospital.
New and Exacerbated Injuries Following the Tunnel Accident
As a result of the accident, our client suffered an open fracture to his left leg, which caused severe bleeding and came with a high risk of infection. He underwent multiple surgeries to clean, debride, and close the wound as well as install hardware to stabilize the bone as it healed. Unfortunately, the bone did not heal properly, and an additional surgery was later needed to repair it.
After three weeks in the hospital, our client was discharged and began receiving home care. Despite consistent physical therapy, he still suffered from significant pain in his left knee. Diagnostic tests revealed tears to the left meniscus, and our client underwent a knee arthroscopy followed by an eventual total knee replacement to address the pain.
Our client also suffered an exacerbation of previous neck and lower back injuries. Though he received conservative care, it failed to alleviate his pain, and he eventually underwent a lumbar fusion surgery.
Even after multiple surgeries, procedures, injections, and years of therapy, our client continues to suffer from lingering pain. He was totally disabled from work, taking him from a job he had truly loved, and he was no longer able to pursue the outdoor hobbies he once enjoyed. This loss has caused tremendous mental and emotional pain on top of his physical trauma.
The Defense’s Attempts to Deflect Liability in the Personal Injury Case
The defendants – the owners and general contractors on the construction site – tried to deflect liability onto other parties by filing third-party claims.
The first claim was filed against the makers of the concrete segments. The defendants claimed that the segments had been poorly designed, leading them to form cracks and ultimately collapse.
The second third-party claim made was against the company that designed the off-loader machine. The defendants argued that it had been poorly designed, causing it to fail and drop the concrete segments.
Attorneys Jeffrey A. Block and S. Joseph Donahue were determined to get to the bottom of these claims. By scouring thousands of pages of documents, they found key pieces of evidence that disproved the defendant’s arguments. First, they looked at engineering studies done on the concrete segments, which clearly showed the segments were designed and constructed properly. Second, they examined the communications between the general contractors and the off-loader company, which revealed some surprising evidence.
Despite the defendant’s claims that the off-loader’s failure was the result of poor company design, our attorneys uncovered communications that showed the contractor had been made explicitly aware of the machine’s limitations. The company told the general contractors on site that the off-loader would not be able to support multiple concrete segments at once, and only one should be moved at a time. The base pads were too small to handle the weight.
However, the contractors did not follow these instructions, and all three segments were moved at once. This negligent decision caused the machine to fail and drop the segments onto our client.
Once our attorneys uncovered this evidence, they made a motion for summary judgment under Labor Law 240(1), which protects construction workers from gravity-related hazards on job sites. The motion was granted, and the case settled for $7,000,000. This money will help our client continue his recovery, and we hope it brings him some measure of relief that justice has been served.
Settlement Amount
The case settled for $7,000,000.
Handling Attorneys
This case was handled by Partners Jeffrey A. Block and S. Joseph Donahue.