The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 Presidents Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 Presidents Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Trial Academy Master Class 6.0
    • The Business Of Law
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

Injured Construction Worker Recovers $5.5M Because Worksite Had No Ladder

Posted on June 25, 2014 by Larry Bodine
trial lawyers, top 10 trial lawyers, top 40 under 40

The general contractor failed to meet its responsibility by failing to provide the plaintiff with a ladder.

A jury in The Bronx awarded a construction worker $5.5 million to compensate him for severe back injuries he suffered when he fell backwards into a trench from a support beam. The injury happened for want of a ladder at the site.

Gilbert Hernandez, 46, had worked for Danella Construction of New York for about a year and was on the job on October 11, 2008 at an excavation site in the Bronx where a new gas main was being installed.

His job was to inspect the pipes in a trench after they were welded together. He finished an inspection and climbed onto a wooden support beam that was supporting the trench walls. The beak broke and Hernandez fell backwards, injuring his back and lower leg.

“Under New York law, the general contractor of a construction site is required to provide proper safety devices to all construction workers,” said plaintiff’s attorney Joseph E. Gorczyca of New York. “In this case the general contractor failed to meet its responsibility by failing to provide the plaintiff with a ladder.”

The defendant claimed that a ladder was provided and the plaintiff simply failed to used it. But the jury rejected this defense, and found in favor of the plaintiff on all issues on June 2, 2014.

Spinal fusion and bone stimulator

The injury left Hernandez permanently disabled from working. After 14 months of conservative care, he underwent a spinal fusion. This ultimately failed and he underwent two additional surgeries to his lower back.

He has a bone stimulator that is as large as an iPhone inserted into his hip that sends electrical signals up his spine. Hernandez describes the sensation as being “stabbed from the inside.” He also suffers from bouts of serious depression and struggles with the side effects from the pain medications, which has caused his family life to disintegrate. He is the father of two children.

Joseph E. Gorczyca is the managing trial attorney for The Law Offices of Michael S. Lamonsoff PLLC, which is one of the largest and fastest growing plaintiffs’ firms in New York City. Gorczyca primarily handles trials involving catastrophic injury cases, construction/labor law violations and mass torts. In addition, he represents people in federal court for civil rights violations.

Posted in Blog, Employment, Personal Injury

Comments are closed.

News Categories

Read about other Top Jury Verdicts

Virginians Will Receive $489 Million in a Payday Loan Settlement

Virginians Will Receive $489 Million in a Payday Loan Settlement

Online payday loan companies that charged as much as 919% interest will spend $489 million to reimburse some 555,000 borrower[Read More...]
The State of Minnesota Will Pay $1.5 Million to a Man Who Alleged Excessive Force During an Arrest

The State of Minnesota Will Pay $1.5 Million to a Man Who Alleged Excessive Force During an Arrest

Minneapolis has agreed to pay $1.5 million to a man who said police used excessive force when he was arrested during the prot[Read More...]
A $230 Million Settlement Is Reached Over a 2015 Southern California Oil Spill

A $230 Million Settlement Is Reached Over a 2015 Southern California Oil Spill

The owner of an oil pipeline that spewed thousands of barrels of crude oil onto Southern California beaches in 2015 has agree[Read More...]
The LeClairRyan-UnitedLex Dispute Reaches a Pending $21 Million Settlement

The LeClairRyan-UnitedLex Dispute Reaches a Pending $21 Million Settlement

After a prolonged mediation process, the LeClairRyan bankruptcy estate looks to have reached a sizable settlement in one of t[Read More...]
The Families of Holyoke Soldiers Home Victims Reach a $56 Million Settlement

The Families of Holyoke Soldiers Home Victims Reach a $56 Million Settlement

Massachusetts has agreed to pay $56 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by the families of veterans who died or [Read More...]

#LegalNews

@@TheNTLtop100

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.