Result: $1.75 Million Settlement for Demolition Worker Injured by Falling Debris

The Perecman Firm secured a $1,750,000 settlement for a demolition worker who was injured in a ceiling collapse.

The Perecman Firm, P.L.L.C. represented a client who suffered back, knee, neck, pelvis, and neurological injuries.

On Nov. 2, 2015, the plaintiff, 24, a laborer, worked at a renovation site in Manhattan. A ceiling collapsed while the plaintiff was demolishing an adjoining wall. The plaintiff was floored by falling fragments of cement and plasterboard, and he claimed that he suffered injuries of his back, a knee and his pelvis.

The plaintiff sued the premises' owner and the renovation project's general contractor. The plaintiff alleged that the defendants negligently failed to provide a safe workplace. He further alleged that the defendants' failure constituted a violation of the New York State Labor Law.

The plaintiff’s counsel claimed that the defendants had failed to undertake any measure to prevent a collapse of the ceiling, that the defendants had failed to undertake any measure to address the possibility of falling objects, and that the ceiling's collapse was a result of an improper coordination of work. The plaintiff’s counsel contended that the accident stemmed from an elevation-related hazard, as defined by Labor Law § 240(1), and that the plaintiff was not provided the proper, safe equipment that is a requirement of the statute.

The parties negotiated a pretrial settlement. The defendants' primary insurer agreed to pay $840,000, from a policy that provided a substantially greater amount of coverage, and the defendants' excess insurer agreed to pay $910,000, from a policy that provided a substantially greater amount of coverage. Thus, the settlement totaled $1.75 million.