A man received a $900,000 settlement as a result of a fall from a fixed exterior access steel ladder in April of 2012. These exterior access ladders allowed the user to travel from various elevations of the roof. On his way down the ladder, the right side rail extension begin to bend outward and fractured at the weld causing the plaintiff to fall 8-12 feet onto an air conditioner compressor. He fell to the floor with his feet but before he touched the ground he jammed his left elbow on the compressor suffering injuries to both elbow and left shoulder.
According to his attorney Paul K. Caliendo of Gill & Chamas, LLC in Woodbridge, NJ, after thorough testing it was determined that the main reasons the right side rail extension failed was due to a fabrication/manufacturing defect caused by Defendant #1. Defendant #1 settled for $720,000 while the remaining six defendants in the suit paid a total of $180,000.
The plaintiff was caused to suffer an avulsion of the lateral epicondyle with fracture of the left radial head, necessitating an arthrotomy repair of the ulnar collateral ligament. Plaintiff was also caused to suffer a left shoulder tear of rotator cuff and superior labral tear requiring extensive debridement of the glenohumeral joint, along with a rotator cuff repair and resection of the labral tear. He continues to experience pain, stiffness, weakness and limited motion of the left shoulder, which is made worse with any type of physical activity. His elbow clicks and locks at times with tightness around the elbow and cramping with tingling.
The case was mediated with Judge Eugene Codey on June 6th, 2017.
