Catastrophic Construction Accident Injury Case: Our client was a plumber who was told by his supervisor to visit a new home build for plumbing work that was needed on the second floor. When our client went to the home and proceeded up the stairs, the stairs collapsed and he landed on his back requiring surgery. While he was in the hospital, his wife knew he would need the best representation. She called our office and Mark met with her and explained all of the ins and outs of a construction injury claim in Arizona. We brought a claim against the general contractor and the subcontractor who was working on the stairs. They both pointed the fingers at each other and blamed our client for going up the stairs when there were no railings. The Defendants pointed to OSHA regulations which say if railings are not on stairs, a worker should not go up the stairs. Our client was ecstatic about the verdict and we were happy that justice was served.
Jury Finds General Contractor Responsible for Injury to Plumber
An Arizona jury just awarded a $1.9 million dollar verdict on behalf of a seriously injured plumber, represented by The Husband & Wife Law Team, and found that the general contractor could not avoid responsibility for the unsafe work conditions on the job site during new home construction in 2007.
While working at a new home construction site, the plumber ascended a set of stairs which unexpectedly collapsed beneath him. The stairs had been constructed by a subcontractor who was on site. When the plumber ascended the stairs, the stairs were in the process of being moved by the other subcontractor who failed to warn the plumber that the stairs were in an unsafe condition, failed to put up caution tape, and failed to tell the general contractor that they would be working on the stairs that day. As a result, the general contractor blamed the plumber for going up the stairs when there were workers nearby and blamed the other subcontractor for failing to warn the plumber and for failing to tell the general contractor about the dangerous condition on the property.
The general contractor for the home where the injury occurred refused to accept any responsibility at trial. The subcontractor did accept responsibility. The plumber acknowledged the subcontractor had responsibility but also argued that the general was responsible as well. The injured worker took the position that the general contractor should accept responsibility for a safety failure that occurred on their jobsite, particularly one that could have been avoided with proper communication if the right policies and procedures had been set in place by the general contractor.
As a result of the stair collapse, the injured worker suffered a serious back injury that included a burst fracture requiring a two-level spinal fusion surgery as well as other injuries.
After deliberations over a period of two days, the jury awarded the client a $1.9 million dollar verdict and assigned 39% of the responsibility to the general contractor, 58% responsibility to the subcontractor and only 3% to the injured worker.
The lawyers for the injured plumber, Alexis and Mark Breyer of "The Husband & Wife Law Team" were very happy with the result. Mark Breyer addressed the significant verdict, saying "An innocent man had his life altered by a serious but wholly preventable injury. When a jury follows the law and holds companies responsible for their failures to protect workers on the job site, it is a great day not only for our client, but for all construction workers in Arizona."