$950,000 Recovery After Long Island Floor Collapsed Under Construction Crew
A 29-year-old construction foreman fell 8 to 10 feet when a residential floor in a Long Island home collapsed because the temporary supports holding it up had been installed improperly. The Orlow Firm pursued the steel subcontractor whose workers had cut the floor joists and placed the inadequate supports. The defense was not one defense but several, with each defendant pointing at the others. The homeowners argued they were exempt under the law's one-family-dwelling rule. The general contractor's identity was disputed. The architect and structural engineer each said shoring was someone else's job. And defendants jointly raised arguments tied to the Suffolk County venue. The Orlow Firm cut through the finger-pointing, used photographs our client had sent before the accident to establish notice, and recovered $950,000 for our client.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
What Happened
Our client was an experienced construction foreman overseeing the renovation of a luxury home on Long Island in early 2011. The renovation was extensive. New building-code rules after Hurricane Sandy meant the house needed steel framing throughout. To install the steel, a structural steel subcontractor cut through the home's existing floor joists. That cutting removed the support holding up the main floor. Temporary screw-jack supports had to be installed beneath the cut joists.
The supports were installed badly. Some sat on bare sand. Some balanced on wooden blocks. Some were fastened to the joists above; some were not. Our client photographed the conditions and emailed the photos to his supervisor warning the conditions were unsafe. He was told to stop bringing it up. On March 14, 2011, several people gathered on the main floor for a progress meeting. The floor opened beneath them in a V shape, and they fell 8 to 10 feet along with heavy equipment.
How We Won
This was a multi-defendant case where every defendant had a different way to walk away. The homeowners argued the law's one- and two-family dwelling exemption took them off the hook entirely. The architect, the structural engineer, the steel contractor, and our client's own employer each argued that someone else was the general contractor, and that whoever the GC was, it was not them.
Adam Moses Orlow, our Senior Trial Partner, focused the case on the steel subcontractor. Their workers had cut the joists. Their workers had placed the screw jacks. Their workers were the only trade on site during the period the supports were installed. That focus pulled the case out of the GC dispute and onto a defendant whose own actions caused the collapse. The photographs and emails our client sent before the accident were the centerpiece. They proved that the dangerous condition had been documented by the foreman himself, in writing, before anyone fell.
The Injuries
Our client was taken by ambulance to Southampton Hospital with pain in his right elbow, neck, and lower back. Imaging documented disc herniations across his cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine, an extensor brevis tendon tear in his right elbow, and a subscapularis tendon tear in his left shoulder. He had right-elbow surgery at the Hospital for Special Surgery in January 2013 and lumbar decompression and discectomy surgery in June 2012.
The Result
The Orlow Firm secured $950,000 at mediation.
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
If you or a loved one has been injured in a construction accident, contact The Orlow Firm at (646) 647-3398 for a free consultation.
