Jobs that involve a high degree of manual labor often yield the largest number of Workers’ Compensation cases. When an injury occurs while the employee is completing what are considered to be part of the day-to-day job requirements, that employee often has a Workers’ Compensation case.
Yet accidents at work can sometimes be litigated as Personal Injury cases in instances in which negligence is a factor. Aguilera v. FHP Tectonics is such an instance.
The Plaintiff, David Aguilera was injured when he fell through an elevator shaft while working for the Chicago Transit Autority on an expansion project for the Brown Line. Mr. Aguilera had opened the door of a freight elevator, which opened despite the fact that the elevator was not on that level. He then fell approximately twenty feet down the elevator shaft. Mr. Aguilera sustained serious medical injuries, including a torn meniscus, a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, a concussion and lumbar strain. Mr. Aguilera and his attorneys argued that he was permanently injured as a result of this accident and that he would be unable to find sufficient employment given his permanent disabilities.
Mr. Aguilera’s attorneys argued that his injuries were caused by negligence on the part of the site’s general contractor, FHP Tectonics. The jury was asked to consider whether the contractor sufficiently managed the safety of employees, specifically Mr. Aguilera. The jury found in favor of Mr. Aguilera in the amount of $534,379.
No comments:
Post a Comment