Defense Verdict Obtained in Construction Accident Case

October 1, 2003

Tom Y. Mei and Richard D. Newman recently obtained a defense verdict in a complex employment case involving a construction site accident. Plaintiff was a temporary worker hired from a temporary employment agency by the general contractor at a construction site.

While plaintiff was working, another temporary worker, who was working on the other side of a wall, threw a piece of concrete the size of a baseball over the wall. The concrete struck the plaintiff, who was not wearing a hard hat, on the head. As a result of the accident the plaintiff sustained head injuries and related neurological problems.

Murchison & Cumming represented the general contractor at the site. The defense filed a motion to bifurcate on the grounds that plaintiff was a "special employee" of defense and therefore, plaintiff's exclusive remedy was workers compensation. The judge granted the motion to bifurcate and a jury trial took place on the issue of special employment. The judge accepted the special jury instructions prepared by Mr. Newman and the jury came back with a verdict in favor of the defense.