$2.474 Million Recovery After Worker Drilled Into a Live Conduit He Was Told Was Dead
A 43-year-old construction worker was shocked when his metal drill struck a live electrical conduit in a parking garage where his foreman had told him the power was off. The Orlow Firm pursued the property owner and general contractor under New York's Industrial Code provision on electrical hazards. The defense had one argument and pushed it hard. A hospital record contained a hearsay note that the worker had been "shocked by a loose electric wire," which the appellate division accepted as creating doubt about whether the shock had come from the conduit at all. The Orlow Firm rebuilt the case on physical evidence and the building superintendent's own actions, and recovered $2.474 million for our client.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What Happened
Our client was a 43-year-old construction worker on a crew renovating parking garages at a residential complex in December 2017. Before work began, the foreman told the crew the garage's power had been turned off. The crew confirmed it by running extension cords from a nearby building to power their lights and tools. Our client was on a scaffold, drilling into the ceiling with a metal electric drill, when his bit struck an electrical conduit. Sparks flew. A current surged through his body and froze him before he lost control and began to fall from the scaffold. A coworker grabbed hold of him in time to prevent the fall to the ground.
How We Won
The defense built its case around a single line in a hospital record. The notation said our client had complained of being shocked by a "loose electric wire." From that, they argued the shock might not have come from the conduit at all. It might have come from one of the extension cords the workers had brought into the garage. The argument worked at first. The trial court granted us summary judgment, but the appellate division reversed, finding the hospital record raised a question of fact.
Adam Moses Orlow, our Managing Partner, dismantled the alternative-source theory piece by piece. The hospital note was hearsay, not even attributed to our client in the rest of the record. It was attributed to his employer. Our client does not speak English. The incident report directly quoted a coworker who said the shock happened when our client's drill struck the conduit and sparked. The physical evidence was even more direct. After the accident, the building superintendent shut off the power to the garage at the direction of the Fire Department, meaning the power had been on the entire time. The superintendent then inspected the area and confirmed the conduit was broken at the point the drill had struck it. None of that fit a loose-extension-cord story.
The Injuries
Our client was taken by ambulance with severe pain in his left leg. Imaging documented muscle atrophy from nerve damage caused by the electrical current and a meniscus tear in his left knee. The shock also aggravated a prior lumbar condition. Conservative treatment failed, and in early 2020 he underwent two consecutive lumbar surgeries at Hudson Regional Hospital, including a fusion and a revision fusion.
The Result
The Orlow Firm recovered $2.474 million.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
If you or a loved one has been injured by an electrical hazard on a construction site, contact The Orlow Firm at (646) 647-3398 for a free consultation.
