Finding the right Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer can be the difference in your case. When looking for the right attorney, you should look for someone who is experienced, dedicated, and has a history of positive results. At the Platta Law Firm, our results speak for themselves. The case below is just one example of our success.
The Case
As Long Island Personal Injury Lawyers, we do what we need to in order be successful in Nassau County courts. When it comes to awards for personal injuries, Long Island is typically more conservative than New York City. This means you must always fully understand the rules from your specific judge. That is why when a roofer came to us after a terrible fall, we knew just how to make sure he got the compensation he deserved. On July 12, 2017, our client was working on a roof of a school in Long Island. This was his first day working at this location. His boss hired him to replace the roof at the school. He arrived at the job site before 6:00 am on the morning of his accident. When everyone arrived at the job site, our client and his co-workers climbed the ladder onto the roof.His job was to remove all portions of the roof and then dispose of the debris. Once they collected a large amount of material, they were told to wheel it over to the other side of the roof and toss the debris down into the container which was on the ground below. A good Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer will quickly evaluate what safety devices are used, which is what we did next.
Was the Roof Safe? Your Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer Should Investigate
There were barriers less than a foot from the edge of the roof that were a few feet high. To throw the debris into the container, which was six to ten feet from the edge of the wall, the client and the other workers would have to lean against the barriers. There were gaps of 1 ½ to 2 feet between the barriers. On his third trip to discard the debris, he tried to throw a large tile into the container. It was bigger and heavier than the other debris he was discarding, so he needed to lift it higher and throw it with more force than before. As the client attempted to throw the tile, he had to twist his body and suddenly lost connection with the barrier, and fell through the gap in the barrier and onto the ground below. As his Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer, we hired an expert engineer to help explain just how dangerous this setup was for the construction workers.
The Injuries
The fall caused injuries to the clients shoulder, ankles and back. After the accident he had surgery on his left shoulder and both ankles. These injuries meant that it would be difficult for him to work as a roofer again. When someone has lost the ability to work at their normal job, your attorney should hire a vocational expert. That is what we did here. This kind of expert evaluates a persons ability to work in all fields, in hopes of finding different employment. Unfortunately for our client, it was clear that he was no longer employable at all. As his Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer, we hired another expert to evaluate the money he would lose if he could not work. This expert is called an economist. They help show what benefits and wages the client would loose over the course of his life. We also hired experts to explain how much money he would need for future medical care. This is called a life care planner. After hiring these experts, we prepared his case for trial.
How a Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer Achieves Results
Preparing for trial does not mean that you case will not settle. When your Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer prepares a case for trial, they must evaluate both your experts, and the defense experts. The defense will usually hire just as many experts as you do. This means we must gather all of the information possible, so that you can use it against them in trial. More often than not, defense experts have contradicted themselves at some point. These contradictions make for very good cross examination material. If your lawyer can show the jury that the defendant is being less than truthful, it can greatly benefit your case. In this case, while we were prepared for trial, the case first went to mediation.
A mediation is when the parties get together with a neutral person too see if they can settle the case. In this case, we showed the mediator how we developed and prepared the case. After this initial stage, the mediator will talk to both parties separately. They will then take settlement offers back and forth between the parties. After much negotiation, we were able to settle the case for $2,000,000 for this injured construction worker. Results like this are not something every Long Island Personal Injury Lawyer can achieve. If you want this kind of preparation, dedication and tenacity working for you, contact the Platta Law Firm.
