Workers' Compensation

Published on: September 5, 2023

Construction Worker Awarded $53 Million in Landmark Injury Case

Welcome to the official law blog of Caesar, Napoli & Spivak, premier injury lawyers. In this article, we will discuss a groundbreaking case involving a construction worker who suffered life-changing injuries due to a preventable fall while on the job. The worker was recently awarded a staggering $53.5 million in damages after a Brooklyn jury found the contracting company liable for their failure to provide adequate safety measures.

The Incident: On August 8, 2017, tragedy struck when a construction worker was working on a Brooklyn construction project for a contracting company. He was tasked with installing an air conditioner condenser on a rooftop when he fell from a height of 10 feet, landing on the rooftop below. The fall caused severe fractures to his spine, necessitating immediate emergency surgery. Tragically, the worker’s spinal cord was damaged in the fall, resulting in permanent paralysis from the waist down. His life was forever altered, and he now requires constant medical care and assistance with everyday activities.

The Verdict: After a comprehensive trial, a Brooklyn jury delivered a landmark verdict on April 21. The jury unanimously found the defendant responsible for failing to ensure the worker’s safety at the time of the incident. As a result of this negligence, they awarded the worker an unprecedented $53.5 million in damages. This substantial compensation aims to address the worker’s extensive medical expenses, loss of earnings, pain and suffering, and the significant impact the accident has had on his quality of life.

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Published on: July 27, 2023

New York City Construction Crane Collapses After Catching Fires. Are There Legal Remedies Available to Workers or Pedestrians Injured at a Construction Site?

By Caesar, Napoli & Spivak PLLC

A large crane on a high-rise building caught fire and partially collapsed in Manhattan on Wednesday morning, July 26, 2023; resulting in multiple injuries and caused debris to plummet to the ground. With numerous construction sites spanning across New York City, it is important to know all the legal remedies available, if you ever find yourself injured as a result of a construction accident.

The unfortunate accident of this morning is very sad, but it is not a new one. At Caesar, Napoli & Spivak PLLC, we have seen events like this a multitude of times throughout our over 30 years of practice. When contractors ignore repeated warnings of dangers and put the lives of workers and pedestrians at risk. As a worker on a construction site, you have the right to a safe and secured workplace. If you are injured while working at a construction site, you have a right to claim workers’ compensation from your employer which will pay for medical coverage regardless of fault and lost wages. Section 240 of New York’s labor law enables construction workers to recover compensation for injuries suffered in falls from scaffolds, ladders and other elevated positions. The law makes several parties potentially liable for damages should an accident occur, including the property owner, construction company and scaffold owner.

Our team of construction accident lawyers have represented seriously injured victims for decades, and we are familiar with how certain injuries affect one’s abilities to work and function on a day-to-day basis. When a worker is injured on a construction site, they may be able to pursue a claim for damages, in order to help recover lost wages, obtain compensation for medical costs, pain and suffering, and other losses.

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Published on: May 16, 2019

Brooklyn Jury Awards $11M to Struck Deliveryman, Though High-Low Caps Recovery

By Caesar, Napoli & Spivak PLLC

A Brooklyn Supreme Court jury has awarded $11.03 million in damages to a deliveryman who was struck from behind by a car as he carted Mexican food on his electric bike. But because of a “high-low agreement” between the parties, arrived at during a nearly two-week damages trial held this month, he will collect $3 million.

Jun Chen, now 41, was riding on his bike in May 2015, on Broadway in lower Manhattan, when he stopped at a red light, according to his lawyer and court documents. As the light turned green, he slowly gained speed when a 2012 Honda sedan, driven by defendant Allan Cooper, “took off fast” from the light and struck Chen from behind, according to James Napoli, Chen’s lawyer.

Chen, who had a bag of Mexican food over the handlebars, was thrown from the bike and landed hard on his right knee before rolling around the pavement in pain, according to Napoli, founder of Caesar, Napoli & Spivak, a 10-lawyer personal-injury firm in Manhattan.

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