South Jersey Workers’ Compensation Attorneys Comment on Settlement of Lawsuit for Construction Worker

Pennsauken, NJ (Law Firm Newswire) August 30, 2018 – Employers are supposed to provide a safe environment for their employees. However, workplace accidents that could have been prevented, frequently take place. In New Jersey, employers are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance to provide the needed care and funding in the event of an injury that occurs at work.

A worker who became paraplegic after falling off a scaffold at a construction site arrived at a settlement of his lawsuit for $8.225 million on January 22. According to the New Jersey Law Journal, Jose Criollo, who was 46 years old at the time of the accident, was an employee of Empire Home Improvements when he was working at a construction site on November 15, 2013. Criollo was working on a scaffolding tower when dust and debris descended into his eyes, thereby causing him to step backward and fall to the ground.

He received a diagnosis of a fractured spine at T1-T13, with an injury to his spinal cord. He had emergency surgery, and was hospitalized for over one month. He then spent four months in a rehabilitation facility.

South Jersey workers’ compensation attorneys Petrillo & Goldberg state, “Workers who suffer injuries at a worksite, especially those that are permanent in nature, must identify every potential liable party in order to realize the maximum compensation.” “An experienced workers’ compensation attorney will be able to advise them as to how to go about filing a claim that will help them obtain the benefits to which they are entitled.”

In his lawsuit, Criollo alleged that Clark Developers, the principal contractor on the site, breached reasonable standards of construction site safety by neglecting to have a plan in place to prevent accidents, neglecting to properly train workers, neglecting to mandate that workers wear fall protection clothing, and neglecting to coordinate habitual inspections of the scaffold by someone familiar with OSHA regulations. According to Criollo’s counsel, the scaffold was not entirely planked, there were missing guardrails and there was no access a ladder.

Criollo’s attorneys said that Clark Developers filed a contract indemnification claim against Empire Home Improvement. The parties reached a settlement following two mediation sessions. According to the settlement, Clark Developers said it would pay $7.275 million, and Empire agreed to pay $950,000, for a total payment of $8.225 million.

Learn more at http://www.petrilloandgoldberg.com/

Petrillo & Goldberg Law

6951 North Park Drive
Pennsauken, NJ 08109

19 South 21st Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103

70 South Broad Street
Woodbury, NJ 08096

Phone: 856-486-4343
Fax: 856:486-7979

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