GWC Injury Lawyers is proud to announce that the firm has obtained a seven figure settlement on behalf of a 29-year-old ironworker who fell over 20 feet from a deck.
According to the lawsuit, the contractor failed to properly tack weld a steel deck panel to the supporting steel frame. When the ironworker stepped on the unsecured panel, it gave way like a trap door dropping the ironworker to the concrete deck below. Surgeons at Northwestern Medical Center performed emergency surgery to reduce the brain pressure caused by bleeding within a subdural hematoma. Months of rehabilitation followed as the ironworker recuperated from this injury and multiple other head fractures.
GWCs investigation began immediately. A lawsuit was filed against the general contractor and its subcontractor for failing to perform work required by the Occupational Safety & Health Administrations (OSHA) standards, industry custom and practice, and by the specific contract for this project. To prove the defendants’ negligence and to establish the damages, GWC lawyers took 54 witness depositions.
GWC thwarted every defense effort to blame the ironworker and his company. Rebuffing initial defense efforts to discuss a settlement, dramatic demonstrative exhibits were prepared as GWC lawyers Louis Cairo and Joseph Sorce prepared the case for trial.
Finally, to avoid trial, the defense requested a mediation of the case with the retired chief judge for Cook County. When presented with the essential case facts and exhibits, the retired chief judge told the defendants and their insurer to pay what the plaintiff demanded. And they did. Because of the size of the settlement, the exact amount cannot be disclosed pursuant to a confidentiality agreement, but it was in excess of $6,000,000.
After much disruption and uncertainty caused by this traumatic event, the ironworkers future is now provided for, as this settlement allows him and his fiancée to once again address long delayed plans for a promising tomorrow.
<< BACK TO BLOG POSTSCongratulations to Louis Cairo and Joseph Sorce on another successful settlement!