A man who sustained a traumatic brain injury in a 25-foot fall from a ladder bought at a Home Depot store recovered $406,800. William Sohngen was using the Louisville extension ladder unattended while painting on the side of a two-story home. The base slid and he crashed to the ground because the rubber feet on the ladder's legs were worn down, he claimed.
The jury found that Home Depot was to blame because it sold the ladder and failed to mention that it had been in rental service for four years, which is against company policy. Sohngen also sued Louisville Ladder for defective design, but the jury found it wasn't negligent. Home Depot was found 60 percent liable and Sohngen was found 40 percent liable, which reduced the jury's $678,000 award.
To purchase a full report on this case, go to VerdictSearch.com.
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Personal Injury
- New York state man recovers $200K for fingers lost to lawn mower
- Eight Powerful Reasons to Hire a Local Attorney
- Court Allows Claims For Emotional Distress After Alleged Breach Of Contract To Continue
- Wal-Mart Limits Subrogation Rights Against Workers
- Pennsylvania Worker recovers for fall from ladder bought at Home Depot
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
- NYC to pay $2.75M for softball accident in school gym class
- New case law on slilp and fall on icey sidewalks owned by a City
- Worker who lost leg in construction accident receives $13M
- Boy blinded in ATV rollover gets $6M settlement
- ELMIRA ATTORNEY CONTINUES TO INVESTIGATE OUTBREAK OF LEGIONNAIRES’ DISEASE AT THE FLANNERY TOWERS
Workers' Compensation
- New York Times article on biased "Independant" Medical Examiners
- No Work Jobs
- Prison Guard receives settlement in MRSA case
- New blog post at the Pa Injury Law blog about the effect Bush had on OSHA
- New post on the Pa Work Injury Law Blog about what to do when you're laid off
Vehicle and Automobile Accidents
- Pennsylvania Car Accident Plaintiff's award of $400,000 Upheld On Appeal
- An unsafe intersection in Athens Township?
- Pennsylvania Superior Court Case Quashing Underinsured Motorist Carrier Appeal
- Pa. Superior Court Allows UIM And Bad Faith To Proceed At Same Time
- People injured in Springfield Township, Bradford County automobile crash
General
- Insurance company denials of benefits in Pennsylvania and New York
- CALL YOUR MEMBER OF CONGRESS AND URGE SUPPORT FOR THE ARBITRATION FAIRNESS ACT OF 2009
- Another ATV Death
- Bradford County, Pennsylvania has a new website
- No conflict of interest between Bradford County, Pennsylvania's new Judge and new District Attorney, despite them cousins
Legal News
Judge campaign candidates speak at dinner in Towanda
Judge Beirne unopposed in local race
Attorney General Tom Corbett to visit Bradford County
Beirne will run for full term as judge
Bradford County Employers Laying Off Workers
Death Benefits Not Mandatory for PA Car Insurance
Bradford County: Judge Beirne presiding
Pennsylvania Senate confirms Beirne as Bradford County judge
Legal Library
Personal Injury
- Questions for Your Doctor In Personal Injury Cases
- Traumatic Brain Injury: By The [Staggering] Numbers
- What is an Independent Medical Examination?
- Common Questions About the Legal Process
- The Wrongful Death Of A Child - Part Two
Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
- Cracked, Broken or Irregular Sidewalks Causing a Fall
- Dog Bites
- If You Have Been Bitten or Attacked by a Dog, Then You Need to Read This Article
- New Pennsylvania Superior Court Case on Dog Attack
- Lead Poisoning Threatens Pregnant Women
Workers' Compensation
- New York Times article on Independent Medical Exams
- Response to Time Magazine Article: "Doctor's View: Can Health Coverage Cause Pain?"
- Specific Loss Benefits
- Reimbursement for Travel Expenes in Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Cases
- Flow of Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Claim Documents Prior To Litigation
Vehicle and Automobile Accidents
- Reducing The Impact of A Whiplash Injury
- Car Accident Injuries: Neck Pain
- Multi-Truck Accident in Susquehanna County Results in Hospitalization
- Repeat Offender Facing DUI Charges After Accident Lands Passenger in Hospital
- Driver Strikes Mother and Daughter in School Crossing Zone
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General
Personal Injury
$2 Million Verdict for Foreman Injured by Pipe Plug
The Legal Intelligencer (12/4, Needles) reported, "A federal jury entered the $2 million verdict against Vanderlans and Sons Inc., the manufacturer of the test plugs -- inflatable rubber stoppers that are placed in both ends of a pipe and inflated in order to test the pipe's airtightness -- before Judge J. Curtis Joyner in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Nov. 25" in favor of a "construction foreman who completely lost use of his right arm after pressure buildup caused a 'test plug' to shoot from the end of a pipe he was installing and pierce his hand." The defendant's attorney "said he felt the case should never have made it to a jury once it was determined that his client's product was not unreasonably dangerous as a matter of law" and that "he will most likely file post-trial motions."Premises Liability: The Slip and Fall
Worker recovers for fall caused by 'junk brick'
An ironworker whose ankle was crushed by a powerlift after he fell on uneven ground at a brickyard work site recovered $810,315. Roger K. Hepner blamed his fall on "junk brick," which is old, culled brick that's used to cover the ground at a construction site. The plaintiff's construction expert argued that junk brick created an unsafe condition. It's standard for a work site to have gravel because junk brick causes an uneven surface. Defense counsel argued that once Hepner fell, the operator of the lift should have been carefully watching the area and not have run over the Hepner's foot.
Hepner v. Global Glay
To get the full report on this case, go to VerdictSearch.com.
Pa. Church Volunteer Who Lost Leg in Accident Awarded $4 Million
From InsuranceJournal.com:
A jury has awarded more than $4 million to a man who lost a leg in an accident while doing volunteer work at his Northampton County church.
Jay Benfield was installing telephone wires at St. John's United Church of Christ in Nazareth when a stack of drywall fell on him on Dec. 26, 2000. He was trapped overnight until workers found him the next day.
His left leg had to be amputated.
The jury deliberated about six hours last Thursday and Friday before announcing the verdict.
Jurors found that one contractor was 70 percent responsible for the accident, another contractor was 20 percent responsible and that Benfield was 10 percent responsible.
***The following is a statement from one of the plaintiff's attorneys, Mark K. Altemose, Esquire, of COHEN & FEELEY of Bethlehem, Pa.:
"My partner, Kelly Rambo, and I would like to thank all of you who expressed congratulations to us on our verdict. It means a great deal to both of us. We truly believe that justice prevailed in the case. Our client is a good man who was willing, from the very beginning--as I told the jury in my opening statement and again in closing--, to accept some responsibility for the accident. The Defendant Construction Manager was being completely unreasonable in denying any liability. The Specifications for the project incorporated a manufacturers' standard that required that drywall be stacked flat. Our experts testified that the purpose of the standard was to prevent this exact type of accident. Nevertheless, the Defendant maintained that stacking it on edge was still safe and that our client was the sole cause of the accident. Fortunately, the jury agreed with our position. Furthermore, the damages awarded were fair and reasonable by any standard of measurement. The jury and our client really deserve the credit.
Hopefully, the Defendant and other contractors who insist on stacking drywall on edge on construction sites will learn from this case so that no other person will endure the needless suffering that our client and his family have endured since this accident and will endure for the remainder of their lives. If so, then this case will be a victory not only for our client, but for PAAJ and all organizations with a similar mission to protect the public at large from needless harm.
You can find contact information for Cohen & Feeley here.Sloppy paint job to blame for worker's slip and fall
A jury awarded more than $4.6 million to a construction worker who slipped on the overspray of a painting project. The suit dates to Aug. 28, 2006, when Thomas McAndrew worked at an outdoor construction site at John F. Kennedy International Airport, in Queens, New York. While traversing an area of cluttered boxes, McAndrew slipped on paint overspray that had been dampened by rainfall. He claimed that he sustained spinal herniations and a severe laceration of one finger. McAndrew sued the construction project's general contractor and a painting subcontractor, alleging that the boxes, the rain and a sloppy paint job created a hazard. The jury agreed, and it awarded McAndrew $4,663,231. McAndrew's wife also recovered $250,000 for her derivative loss.
McAndrew v. American Airlines Inc.
Order the full report on this case here at Verdict Search.
Vehicle and Automobile Accidents
Family awarded $5.1 for man killed by drunk driver at work site
A jury awarded $5.1 million to the family of a man who was struck and killed by a drunk driver while working at a road construction site. Donald Lee Fincher Jr. hit Frank Claborn as he was providing security for a construction company that was renovating the West Sam Houston Toll Road. His counsel argued that Fincher was nearly three times over the legal blood-alcohol limit. The family claimed that Claborn was conscious and in pain for about an hour before he died. Fincher stipulated to liability. He offered a consent judgment, but Claborn's wife wouldn't make a counter offer and wouldn't consider a settlement without a trial.
Claborn v. Fincher
Workers' Compensation
The Defense Base Act Protects American Workers Injured in Iraq and Afghanistan
I added an article to our Pennsylvania Workers' Compensation Blog about American workers who have been injured helping with the reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan. You can see the article here.
You don't see this issue discussed too much in the news. But thousands of American workers have been injured overseas. If you know someone who has been injured overseas, contact us and we'll see if we can help them or get them to a specialist in this field.
General
Carpenter recovers nearly $40M for paralyzing work injury
A federal jury awarded nearly $40 million to a carpenter who sustained a paralyzing injury while working at Manhattan's South Ferry Terminal. Liability was not contested in the suit, which stemmed from an August 2006 incident in which Dmitry Okraynets, then 31, was struck by an 800-pound unit of construction forms that fell off of a wall. Okraynets, permanently paraplegic, claimed that a spinal complication could lead to paralysis of his upper limbs. He contended that he will require lifelong assistance and medical care. The jury found that Okraynets' damages totaled $39,706,444, and it also awarded $5 million to Okraynets' wife, for her loss of services.
See a full report on the case at VerdictSearch.com.
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Workers' Compensation
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