GWC Partner, Louis A. Cairo, and attorney, Lawrence J. Amato, have obtained a settlement in excess of $2.687M on behalf of Local 1 ironworker who suffered injuries to his pelvis and lower back at the Glenwood Plaza Project when a construction crane tipped, bumping the structural steel and causing the client to fall 12 ½ feet to the ground.
Faulty Crane Set Up Causes Fall Off of The Iron
On August 12, 2021, GWC’s client, along with his Arcorp Structures co-workers, were tasked with installing 150-pound steel roof frames in between previously erected roof joist. In order to lift the roof frames into position, the Arcorp crew was working in tandem with a crane operator employed by Nichols Crane Rental. Once the roof frame was rigged to the crane, the crane operator would lift and fly the roof frame to the Arcorp connectors, GWC’s client and a co-worker, who then would guide it into position on the roof.
The crane involved was placed, set up and operated exclusively by Nichols’ operator. The general contractor was on site but did not conduct any inspections or coordination of where the crane was set up, nor did anyone conduct any testing or ground conditions analysis. As a result, the crane was set up in proximity to a formerly backfilled area near the building structure on what turned out to be unstable ground. While the ironworkers were in the process of connecting one of the frames whilst suspended to the crane, the front right outrigger of the crane sunk approximately 4 ½ feed into the ground causing the boom to drop suddenly which resulted in the suspended roof frame to swing towards GWC’s client, causing him to fall off the iron. GWC’s client suffered significant injuries to his pelvis and lower back.
GWC filed suit against all parties responsible, including the company that owned the crane, Nichols Crane Rental Inc, and its employee who was operating the crane, as well as the general contractor for the construction project, Global Development & Construction Corp. Both parties failed to fulfill critical safety responsibilities of determining whether ground conditions are adequate for crane operations and to properly displace the axial forces on the outriggers during lifting operations.
Ironworker Back to Work Less Than 1 Year After Injury
GWC’s client was treated at Advocate Christ Medical Center where he remained for 4 days. While his injuries did not require surgery, he underwent extensive physical therapy and rehabilitation for about 10 months, returning to ironwork in less than a year after the fall.
Large Settlement Secured After Mediation
Ultimately, the GWC litigation team was able to secure settlement in the amount of $2,500,000.00 in cash and a waiver of a workers’ compensation lien in the amount of $187,000.00, bringing the total value of the settlement to $2,687,000.00.
“The degree of negligence responsible for causing this occurrence cannot be overstated. The multiple failures to ensure that the ground would support the weight of the outriggers during lifting operations, as well as the obvious failure to properly utilize cribbing to spread out the forces on the ground, were inexcusable. The serious nature of the liability created a tipping point in the negotiations that drove the result that we were able to reach for this very nice client,” stated partner, Louis A. Cairo.
Getting Justice for Injured Construction Workers
Whenever construction work requires the use of a any type of heavy equipment, additional care and caution must be utilized to ensure the safety of every single tradesman on the project. Struck by incidents involving heavy machine occur when contractors and supervisors neglect in fulfilling their safety responsibilities. In the last 2 years, GWC lawyers has settled injuries cases involving improper operation of a Gradall machine and a road grinder, for $20M and $10.05M, respectively.
If you have suffered an injury because of a failure of any type of heavy equipment, contact GWC Injury Lawyers, LLC for a free consultation. Our goal is to identify and pursue every party that may be at fault in order to obtain full and fair compensation for our clients. With over $2.5B in settlements and verdicts for our injury clients, GWC is ready to secure justice for you and your family.
Schedule a no-cost, no-obligation consultation with one of GWC’s trial lawyers today. You may call our office at (312) 999-9999 or click here to chat with a representative at any time.
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