Injuries alleged: Paraplegia
Name of case: Withheld
Court: Wake County Superior Court
Verdict or settlement: Settlement
Amount: $4,000,000
Date of verdict or settlement: 9/16/2014
Highest Offer: None
Most helpful experts: Steve Farlow of PE Accident Reconstructionist, Raleigh; Carson Bays, economist, Greenville; and Hope Wade, CLCP, Life Care Planner, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Insurance Carrier: USAA
Attorneys for plaintiff: Doug Abrams, Noah Abrams and Melissa Abrams of Abrams & Abrams, Raleigh, and Ben Whitley of Whitley Law Firm, Raleigh
Attorney for defendant: Derek Crump of Brown Crump Vanore & Tierney, Raleigh, and Bo Walker of Ragsdale Liggett, RaleighDescription:
An iron worker has received a settlement of $4 million after being paralyzed from falling from a walkway during a demolition job. The plaintiff (name withheld) was 41 years of age at the time of the injury. His accident took place at a mall in Raleigh where he was cutting out portions of the overhang so that a crane could be brought through and steel beams hoisted up. The plaintiff fell through the area that was just removed after the overhang collapsed which resulted in a spinal cord injury.
When an inspection of the accident location took place, a report from the general contractor regarding the fall protection measures that would take place was found. None of the items that the general contractor had checked off from the list were found on the site. If the case had gone to trial, these reports would have been a big part of the evidence.
Not only did the plaintiff get the settlement, but the attorneys reduced a workers’ compensation lien against the payout to a small amount because of the employer’s negligence.