Case Victory Spotlight: $7 Million Settlement for Injured Maritime Worker

Working over the water on the Mississippi River can be a dangerous job, especially when others make costly mistakes.  Our client was working as a pile driver and welder on the installation of a new mooring dolphin and pipe rack which were being built to extend the area available to dock ships.  After completing his work for the day, our client attempted to descend the ladder attached to the side of the mooring dolphin but slipped off the ladder and fell over 25’ to the deck of a boat waiting below him to take him back to shore.  He sustained severe traumatic injuries, including traumatic injury to his spine which required emergency decompression surgery and fusion surgery.  His injuries were so severe that he was airlifted to the hospital, where he remained for over a month with numerous life-threatening complications.

After being released from the hospital, our client continued receiving extensive medical treatment for his numerous injuries.  He suffered from severe chronic low back pain, headaches, memory loss, anxiety, insomnia, depression, and urinary and bowel incontinence issues – all for which he will require a lifetime of medical treatment and medications.

Our team worked tirelessly for our client and discovered that the ladder affixed to the mooring dolphin was not built correctly and that this was the primary cause of his falling off the ladder.  To put it simply, the plans called for flat “deformed” rungs which provide greater friction, but what was ultimately fabricated and installed contained round smooth rungs. This simple, yet life-altering, mistake was not discovered by the company who built the ladder at any time during the design, fabrication, or delivery of this ladder. Even though they received, accepted, and installed the ladder by welding it onto the mooring dolphin, our client’s employer’s own personnel likewise did not notice the glaring difference between the specification and the ladder which was delivered to them prior to our client’s tragic fall. We filed suit against our client’s employer, who welded the ladder into place, and the company who constructed the ladder, alleging not only that it was not built to specification and was not OSHA compliant, but that no one realized this from the time it was built, then transported to the work site, inspected, and installed.  Our team of lawyers, paralegals, and experts systematically built this case for our client, pouring through a mountain of documents, taking depositions, and retaining experts to support the evidence against these companies.

As a result of this accident, our client was no longer able to work at the job he loved and had done for many years.  Instead, he was facing lifelong medical issues that prevented him from working as a welder.  His family life was also seriously impacted.  The tables had been turned on him – going from the proud provider and head of his family to someone his children and loving partner now had to take care of 100%.  He was under tremendous strain worrying about how he would provide for his family and be there for them going forward.  He had both school-age children and his partner to take care of and he felt he was failing them, which of course he was not.

Both the employer and the company who built the ladder tried to blame our client for this accident arguing that he simply lost his grip and fell.  We would not allow them to do this and subsequently proved that the work gloves our client was wearing at the time were provided to him by his employer.  They were fully aware of this, but instead of taking responsibility for their mistakes, they tried to blame their own employee – a 50-year-old man working hard to take care of his family.

In addition to the enormous medical bills, which the employer’s insurer paid, we were able to successfully obtain $7,000,000.00 for our client.  These funds will allow him to have the financial security he needs for himself and his family.  He no longer has to worry about how to put food on the table and take care of his family.  He is once again able to provide a home for his family, pay his bills.  He is not dependent upon anyone.

Our team went the extra mile for this client as we do for all our clients.  While we could not restore him physically, we were able to put him into a position where he has the peace of mind knowing that he now has the resources to take care of his loved ones and that is what matters most to him. On the Land, on the Water, or on the Roadways of America, We Will Fight for You!