Recently in personal injury Category

A Cook County jury on Wednesday (Oct. 13, 2010) awarded a 51-year-old carpenter $1.477 million in a catastrophic construction site injury arising out of an accident that occurred when he fell from an inadequate ladder while carrying one end of a 100- to 120-pound beam that he intended to install as a doorway header. The amount included $105,000.00 awarded to his wife Roberta for loss of consortium.

James Conwell was an employee of Kole Construction, a carpentry sub-contractor to James McHugh Construction Company, working at a job site at 1111 S. State Street in Chicago, when the ladder collapsed.  He fell, and the beam struck him on the back of his head and neck.  The serious injuries he suffered at the scene have now been declared by his doctor and the federal government as total and permanent.

After a two-week trial, the jury returned the verdict after closing arguments were presented by attorneys Antonio M. Romanucci, of Romanucci & Blandin, LLC, and Daniel E. O'Brien, of Burke & O'Brien, P.C., who represented the plaintiffs, and Angelo Spyratos and Pamela Pierro, of Momkus McCluskey, LLC, representing the defendant, James McHugh Construction Company.

The Complaint alleged that McHugh was aware that subcontractors on the project were using inadequate ladders for the required work but failed to have them removed from the job site until after the injury.  It also alleged that McHugh had a formal safety program and procedures that it failed to follow, that it failed to enforce its safety rules that required subcontractor employees to wear stickers on their hard hats to verify attendance at mandatory McHugh safety orientation.

The jury agreed with the plaintiffs' contentions that McHugh failed to comply with ANSI and OSHA regulations, to provide safe and suitable equipment, and to make reasonable inspections of the premise to ensure compliance with their own safety program.  After undergoing surgery on the day of his accident to repair a deep neck and facial laceration, Conwell began follow-up treatment.  Visits to numerous specialists confirmed that there was no cure for his persistent aura migraines, neck pain, tinnitus and severe hyperacusis in the right ear as a result of the accident.  Because of the severity of his symptoms, his life has become one of isolation in his home, which has required his wife Roberta to take on the duties of both parents to their school-age son.

The case, James Conwell and Roberta Conwell vs. James McHugh Construction Company, No. 06L4924.  The judge in the case was Hon. Thomas Flanagan.

SOURCE Romanucci & Blandin, LLC

Class Action Status Requested To Benefit All Persons Who Reside in the State of Louisiana and who Sustained Damages as a Result of the Dow Chemical Leak.

Parker Waichman Alonso LLP, together with the Law Office of Robert M. Becnel, Salas & Co., L.C., and Herman Herman Katz & Cotler LLP, announces that it has filed suit on behalf of several Louisiana residents who sustained personal injuries and / or property damage as a result of a release of the chemical ethyl acrylate at the Dow Chemical Company's St. Charles Operation facility in Hahnville, Louisiana on July 7, 2009. The lawsuit, which was filed in the Twenty-Ninth Judicial District Court in the State of Louisiana, St. Charles Parish, seeks class action status to benefit all Louisiana residents who sustained residents who sustained personal injuries and / or property damage as a result of this incident.

The lawsuit alleges that the ethyl acrylate released during the accident is hazardous to both people and property. The plaintiffs claim they suffered physical, property, financial and psychological damages as a result of the ethyl acrylate leak, and that those damages were the result of Dow Chemical's negligence.

The lawsuit alleges that Dow Chemical knew or should have known that the tank and equipment were faulty, and that the substance they released was harmful. The lawsuit also charges that Dow Chemical failed to take necessary action to mitigate the danger from the spill, or provide adequate and timely warning of the leak. The plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages in an amount to be determined by the court.

The Dow Chemical ethyl acrylate leak occurred when a vent on a 640,000 gallon storage tank malfunctioned, releasing ethyl acrylate into the surrounding community. The release of ethyl acrylate produced an acrid odor that could be detected as far away as New Orleans and St. Bernard Parish. People living around Dow Chemical's St. Charles Operations facility were forced to evacuate, and dozens of people were treated in the hospital for ailments typical of exposure to ethyl acrylate fumes, including eye, nose and throat irritation.

SOURCE Parker Waichman Alonso LLP