Simon Law Group lawyers Sevy Fisher and Thomas Feher successfully represented a painter working on a storefront in Pasadena, California, who suffered a critical fall while working atop scaffolding provided by the defendant. The plaintiff’s lawyers convinced a jury that the defendant, a store owner, was liable for injuries sustained by the plaintiff, who fell from poorly-secured scaffolding.
After a warning from a city building inspector to discontinue the use of a ladder on the scaffolding, the plaintiff was coerced by the defendant to resume work. It was then when the scaffolding began to move and the plaintiff fell nearly 20 feet and struck the concrete. He lost consciousness, which resulted in several injuries including fracturing both wrists, skull, facial fractures, and mild traumatic brain injury. There were no objective findings on brain imaging to support the mild traumatic brain injury.
Fisher and Feher proved that the plaintiff was in fact considered a statutory employee under the labor code due to the type of work he was conducting, since he was not a traditional employee. This meant that the defendant was liable for the injuries. The jury awarded $3.6 million to the plaintiff.