Phillips Law Offices Announces it Has Obtained a 5-Million-Dollar Wrongful Death Settlement on Behalf of the Family of a Beloved and Devoted Husband and Father.
On September 8, 2015, the Plaintiff, a 53-year-old electrician, was installing electrical conduit from a scissor lift, a mobile work platform, which was elevated approximately twenty-five feet in the air, in an industrial warehouse facility in Bensenville, Illinois. He had previously maneuvered his scissor lift around multiple large, uncovered holes in the concrete floor, known as box-outs, variously 2 x 4 and 4 x 8 feet in size, which existed along the path of his work.
However, while maneuvering around one hole in the floor from a height of twenty-five feet in the air, Plaintiff drove his scissor lift into it, causing his scissor lift to tip over. The Plaintiff, who was neither utilizing any fall protection nor wearing a hard hat, suffered fatal injuries from the fall.
The holes were created by Defendant concrete subcontractor at the direction of Defendant general contractor during a concrete pour that took place approximately 7 days before Plaintiff’s death. While the holes did not appear on the blueprints the Plaintiff used to plan and perform his work, Plaintiff was present on the work site every day and daily progress logs showed the general contractor had instructed Plaintiff multiple times to stay out of the area of the holes until the concrete had hardened.
Plaintiff’s Estate argued that the both the general contractor and concrete subcontractor violated construction duties and standards, OSHA guidelines, as well as provisions of their own safety manuals, by failing to cover, barricade, mark or otherwise warn of the presence of the holes that they had ordered and created and of which they were undoubtedly aware.
Defendants argued that Plaintiff knew of the presence of the holes; had been told by the general contractor not to work in the area at issue; that it was unknown to either defendant that Plaintiff was working in the area at issue on the date of his fall; that Plaintiff had inappropriately operated his work platform while extended high in the air; and that Plaintiff had failed to utilize fall protection.
The general contractor’s job site superintendent admitted that it would have cost only $30 dollars and would have taken less than 20 minutes to cordon off the area where Plaintiff fell; would have taken only 30 minutes to cover and mark the holes; and would have taken only a matter of minutes to barricade the holes.
The general contractor took all these actions after Plaintiff died.
Plaintiff was survived by his wife of 19 years, and two sons, aged 15 and 12.
The settlement was mediated by the Honorable Keith Brown retired.
This case was handled by Stephen D. Phillips, Terrence M. Quinn and Stephen J. Phillips.
For More information CONTACT:
Stephen D. Phillips
Phillips Law offices
161 N Clark Street Suite 4925
Chicago, Illinois 60601
P: 312-598-0930
C: 312-550-0005
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