We won summary judgment under Labor Law 240 and secured this settlement for a union mason tender who was knocked unconscious falling from a shifting scaffold plank. A 41-year-old union mason tender was assigned to clean up a scaffold on a construction site early in the morning. It was still dark, and his superiors had failed to provide sufficient lighting for him to safely do his job. Working in these poor conditions put him at serious risk from the very start.
As he made his way down the scaffold, one of the planks suddenly shifted beneath him. With no way to stop himself, he fell about six feet to the floor below. The impact was severe enough to knock him unconscious for several minutes. When he came to, he was left with injuries to his shoulder, elbow, neck, and back.
We moved to hold the responsible parties accountable for failing to provide safe working conditions, including proper lighting that could have prevented this accident entirely. Our efforts paid off when we won summary judgment under Labor Law 240, a law designed specifically to protect workers from exactly this kind of elevation-related hazard. This early legal victory strengthened our position and helped pave the way toward a strong outcome for our client. In the end, we secured a settlement of $8,500,000.