Clark Law Firm Attained $725,000 Settlement for Worker Who Fell from Roof
Mark W. Morris of the Clark Law Firm attained a $725,000 Settlement for a construction worker who fell from a roof.
A Clark Law Firm, P.C. client was injured on February 14, 2020 when he fell from a roof on a residential construction project in Deal, New Jersey. The client, Antonio Martinez, was beginning to roll out tar paper for roofing shingles when he slipped and fell from the roof, falling to the roof of a second-story deck and then to the ground below.
Antonio was not provided with and was not wearing any fall protection at the time of the incident. The general contractor for the framing, siding and roofing work on the project was More Core Construction. Discovery revealed that Antonio had worked as an employee of More Core subcontractors on a number of prior jobs. On those prior jobs the work was performed the same way: with no fall protection. Plaintiff alleged the Defendant would see him and the other workers working from heights without fall protection and say nothing. Antonio had no OSHA safety training.
When Antonio fell to the ground, he landed on his left wrist, breaking his wrist. Antonio was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where he underwent surgery where hardware was used to repair the broken bones in his wrist. A year later Antonio underwent a second surgery to remove some of the hardware and then a year after that, a third surgery to remove the remaining hardware.
This case was filed in Monmouth County Superior Court and moved through the discovery phase. Plaintiff’s counsel took the Defendant construction company owner’s deposition who testified he had no OSHA training, did not know what OSHA requires by way of fall protection and stated, “If they’re not working and you have rain on the way and you have a storm coming, you have to make that judgment call if you’re going to be safe or, you know, have a house destroyed. It all depends on the situation.”
On November 21, 2024, the case proceeded to a settlement conference where the matter resolved for $725,000. Mark W. Morris, Esq. with the Clark Law Firm said, “Falls are the leading cause of worker deaths in the United States. It is crucial the companies at the top of these job sites implement and enforce basic job site safety rules to protect workers like Antonio from needless injury or death.” Antonio’s attorney added, “while we are happy to be able to help out Antonio and his family, this type of thing should never have happened and worker safety needs to be prioritized over things like a schedule or property damage.”
Please contact us today with any questions or if you have been injured in an accident.
