Staff | New York Jury Verdict Reporter, Vol.XIX, Issue 22

Supreme Court, Eleventh Judicial District, Queens County, New York

ROBERT HARRISON V. D.F. MASONS, INC. V. UNITED HOIST COMPANY

No. 16931/92

DATE OF VERDICT/SETTLEMENT: August 13, 2001

TOPIC: WORKPLACE

SUMMARY:

AWARD: $400,000

RESULT: Settlement

This action settled before jury selection for $400,000, plus the waiver of a $337,000 Workers' Compensation lien.

EXPERT WITNESSES:

Plaintiff: Dr. Joseph Waltz; Pediatric Neurosurgery

ATTORNEYS:

Plaintiff: Stuart L. Finz; Finz and Finz; Jericho, NY Jay Feigenbaum; Finz and Finz; Finz and Finz, NY

Defendant: James S. Kehoe; Tromello, McDonnell and Kehoe; Melville, NY Stewart B. Greenspan; Rubin, Fiorella and Friedman, L.L.P.; Manhattan, NY

STATE: New York

COUNTY: Queens County

INJURIES: Fractured thoracic vertebrae at T-11 and T-12.

SUMMARY:

Offer: $275,000; demand: $600,000.

Insurance Carrier: CNA

FACTS:

Pltf., a 57-year-old contractor for Third-party Deft. United Hoist, claimed that he was injured on 11/25/91 at 12:45 PM after performing measurements for a job estimate for Deft. D.F. Masons concerning the installation of temporary exterior construction hoists at Elmhurst General Hospital in Queens. He claimed that in order for him to get to the area of the building where he needed to take the measurements, he had to climb onto a steel beam. Deft. D.F. Masons provided him with a short ladder, which Pltf. placed on top of a commercial air-conditioning unit and extended to the beam. Pltf. misstepped when attempting to descend the ladder, causing the ladder to fall.

Pltf. originally filed claims against the owner of the property and the general contractor under Labor Law § 240, but the Appellate Division, Second Department held that Pltf.'s claim was not covered by the Labor Law because he was in the process of giving an estimate and, therefore, was not employed at the construction site at the time of the accident. It dismissed the action against all Defts., except D.F. Masons, against whom Pltf. proceeded on a commonlaw negligence claim see, Harrison v. D.F. Masons, Inc. and United Hoist, 275 A.D.2d 391 and 248 A.D.2d 592. Pltf. would have claimed at trial that D.F. Masons was responsible for the accident because it did not provide him with a safe means to take measurements. Deft. would have argued that Pltf., who was an experienced estimator and who had been to the site prior to the accident, was responsible for the accident because he had decided to use the short ladder and place it on top of the air-conditioning unit and lean it against the steel beam. Deft. would have also claimed that since Pltf. was at the site prior to the accident, he knew that he would need a ladder that would reach the beam and was responsible for bringing the proper ladder to the site. It argued that Pltf. should not have used the short ladder.