Carpenter Injured by Nail Gun on Job Site Ignoring OSHA Standards Recovers $450,000
On April 7, 2008 a 42 year old construction worker was operating a nail gun while working on a house in Depford, New Jersey. Plaintiff, an employee of Quality Woodpecker Hardwood Floors Inc., of Long Branch (Quality) suffered injuries to the lens and globe of his eye while installing hardwood flooring. While installing the flooring, the nail gun he was using caused debris to come into contact with his eye, causing the injury.
Although Plaintiff was employed by Quality, the company was only a subcontractor hired by defendants, Lumber Liquidators, Inc. (Lumber Liquidators) and the Home Services Store, Inc. (HHS) to perform hardwood floor installations. Counsel for the plaintiff, Gerald H. Clark of the Clark Law Firm, PC alleged that the failure of these general contractors to enforce OSHA safety guidelines, including failing to require subcontractors to wear protective eye wear, resulted in plaintiff’s eye injury.
Clark showed that under New Jersey law, general contractors have a non-delegable duty to maintain a safe workplace and enforce OSHA standards. Since Lumber Liquidators and HHS failed to meet their duty to maintain workplace safety and ignored federal OSHA workplace safety regulations on their construction project, Gerald H. Clark argued that this failure resulted in the injury to plaintiff.
Plaintiff’s injures included damage to the globe and lens of his right eye as well as a traumatic cataract. Although plaintiff underwent corrective surgery and later, laser correction surgery of a remaining corneal scar, plaintiff was left with reduced vision from the eye injury. While previously plaintiff’s right eye had been 20/20 the eye’s vision was reduced to 20/40.
Plaintiff was represented by Gerald H. Clark of the Clark Law Firm, PC who was assisted by Sarah K. Delahant also of the Clark Law Firm, PC. The case ultimately settled during settlement discussions between plaintiff and defendant’s counsel for a total amount of $450,000.