Walsh Construction Company of Illinois agreed to pay $950,000 to a millwright injured in a May 2000 fall during their administration of a construction site. The project took place at the Metropolitan Water and Reclamation District site at McCormick and Howard in Skokie, Illinois. The 46-year-old millwright foreman was injured when he fell from an unprotected catwalk approximately 16 feet above the concrete bottom of a sewage plant tank. While assisting another crew to move a steel trough into place adjacent to the catwalk which separated two tanks, the Plaintiff was pulling on a choker which rigged the trough to an overhead crane when his hand slipped. He landed on his feet in the bottom of the tank after turning in mid-air and striking a piece of equipment.
The allegations included the failure of the general contractor to provide OSHA mandated safety rails around the perimeter of the tank to protect those working on or about the catwalk. Initially, the Plaintiff was treated for low back pain and soreness to both heels. He returned to work after three months, but about a year later was unable to continue in his trade. Approximately six years after the incident, he underwent bi-lateral hip replacement due to a congenital condition which his counsel, James J. Morici, Jr. argued was aggravated by the trauma of the occurrence.
In addition to the sum that the insurers for Walsh were made to pay, the settlement included the waiver of a six-figure workers compensation lien. Morici, Longo & Associates handled the workers' compensation case for the Plaintiff and subsequently filed a third-party common law action in the Circuit Court of Cook County.
The seven-figure value settlement for the Plaintiff is one of a long line of substantial verdicts and settlements on behalf of injured tradespeople brought about by the efforts of Morici, Longo & Associates. For more information about this matter or how we can be of assistance to you, your friends, family, neighbors, or co-workers, please do not hesitate to contact us.
