$5 million settlement for injured union worker: a victory for workers’ rights

A serious injury at a construction site has netted a 49-year-old union worker a $5 million settlement. The attorneys Kenneth Halperin and Bryce Moses of Wingate, Russotti, Shapiro, Moses & Halperin, LLP opened the case which sets a new trend for safety in workplaces and the rights of workers.

An accident happened when he was working on a poorly lit room at the construction site; another subcontractor carelessly propped a metal door, which fell and struck him on the head while he was retrieving a sheet of Masonite. Despite attempts by the defendants to blame the worker, the court ruled in favor of the worker under New York State’s Labor Law 240(1), which obligates employers to provide safe job conditions.

He sustained a severe physical injury with spinal cord compression and fractures in vertebrae. It also resulted in sustaining a traumatic brain injury with consequent emotional and cognitive problems associated with anxiety and depression. Trial was set for taking up the case. However, an agreement was struck just days before a jury was to be put in place. An additional 9% interest on $3 million was negotiated by Moses, bringing the total settlement to $5.54 million.