Dead Construction Worker's Family Receives $2M Settlement

Dead Construction Worker's Family Receives $2M Settlement

Introduction

In 2016, a construction worker from Elizabeth was killed after falling from a forklift at a banquet hall construction site in Morris County. His family recently received a wrongful death lawsuit settlement of $2 million from the court.

According to the victim's family attorney and the Occupational Safety Health Administration(OSHA), he wasn't wearing any safety gear while working on the construction site. He was standing on a pallet on the forklift when the ladder of the forklift was lowering. The forks broke off the forklift while lowering the ladder, which caused him to fall 20 feet.

The lawsuit further states that the victim was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital. It also stated that neither the driver of the forklift, nor any of the workers received the safety training on the day of the incident, and before the fall they both were working 50 feet above the ground level.

Employers, ABN Realty, the owner and developer of the Legacy Castle, and subcontractor GK Brothers, the Belleville non-union roofing company, both paid $1 million each to Montero. OSHA also fined GK Brothers $38,025, for committing three serious safety violations, penalizing each at $12,675.

A similar incident happened at Kean University on May 13, 2016, where a worker fell from an elevator shaft. The fall resulted in serious injuries for the man that included multiple fractures and damaged skull and wrist. As per the court documents, the victim was misinformed by the site superintendent that the floor has plastic foam. The worker had to announce his retirement post the incident due to cognitive problems. He received a settlement of $3 million after four years of the accident.

The 21 years old plaintiff working in a banquet hall construction site was rushed to an area hospital and pronounced dead minutes later, as per Clark Law Firm, which represented Montero’s family.

The subcontractor and the contractor in charge of building the Legacy Castle in the Pompton Plains section of Pequannock agreed to the settlement in late 2019, according to the New Jersey Law Journal which was the first to report on the settlement.

Neither the driver of the forklift nor any of the workers had received safety training on Nov. 18, 2016, the law firm said. Earlier in the day, Montero and a co-worker were on the forklift about 50 feet off the ground without safety gear to install copper finial ornaments.

The owner of ABN Realty watched on with the approval of this dangerous method, the law firm stated in a statement. All workers exposed to fall hazards six feet or more have to be protected from falls with a harness and lanyard or other protection. Directing workers on a platform on a forklift is dangerous and against basic safety rules, the law firm representing the plaintiff further added.