$2.520 Million Settlement for Construction Worker Who Fell From Ladder and Was Told By Others He Had No Case

In October of 2004 a plaintiff was constructing a trade show exhibit in Somerset, New Jersey. While up on a ladder working on the exhibit, plaintiff was caused to fall to the hard ground below, striking his head and suffering severe and permanent physical and emotional injuries.

When EMT’s arrived on the scene they took precautions to stabilize plaintiff’s head, neck and spinal cord as they transported him to the St. Peter’s Medical Center. Observing numerous skull fractures and hemorrhages as well as weakness in plaintiff’s left side, doctors were forced to perform an emergency surgery when plaintiff began experiencing difficulty breathing.

Noting several severe brain injuries, doctors placed plaintiff on a feeding tube to maintain nutrition and medicinal injections. For weeks following his fall, plaintiff was unresponsive to verbal or physical stimuli, his extremities did not move spontaneously, nor did his pupils respond normally to light stimulus.  After a discussion with plaintiff’s family regarding the chance that there would be no return of normal cognitive functions, plaintiff was moved to a care facility where he slowly began to recover from his injuries.

After being discharged in March of 2005, plaintiff required 24-hour assistance, was declared legally blind, barred from driving, climbing, or heavy lifting, and was to have home occupational therapy, and home health aides. Plaintiff was given a walker, and a wheelchair to use for mobility.

Although slowly recovering in certain areas, plaintiff continued experiencing difficulty breathing when he would lie down and likewise experienced persistent headaches. A visit to a psychologist revealed he was also suffering from adjustment disorder and possible depression.

Presently, plaintiff is legally blind, experiences weakness in his left side, has intermittent breathing problems and is confined to a wheel chair for mobility purposes.

Despite these severe and unfortunate injuries, plaintiff was initially unable to recover any compensation for his life changing ailments. First, defendant’s denied any liability, asserting that plaintiff merely lost his balance and fell, thus barring any third party liability. Second, plaintiff’s initial attorney failed to discover whether the ladder was in fact defective, and thereby a proximate cause of plaintiff’s injuries.

Alleging that they could proceed no further, and that plaintiff had no case, initial counsel passed the case along to the Gerald Clark, now of the Clark Law Firm, PC, changing plaintiff’s fortune, and finally allowing him to find someone able to get him the compensation he deserved. Clark fought diligently for plaintiff, refusing to give up where others had faltered.

After numerous negotiations, counsel was able to obtain a settlement of $2.520M for plaintiff and his family. Succeeding where others had failed, and persevering where others had decided there was no way to progress, Clark earned plaintiff the compensation he deserved and showed that safety precautions must be followed, and workers never needlessly endangered. Echoing sentiments that community safety is paramount in today’s society, Clark spoke for not just for plaintiff and his family, but the community as a whole in obtaining a settlement of $2.520M.