Workers' Compensation
Recovered for Young Worker Struck by a Falling Dead Tree on a Job Site
The Situation
Our client was a man in his twenties who worked on an underground cable installation crew. On the day he was injured, the crew was running fiber optic cable to a home in the Pee Dee region of South Carolina.
What Happened & Who Was at Fault
While our client fed cable into the trench, a co-worker used a trenching machine to cut a path for the cable right next to a large dead tree on the property. The machine cut through the tree’s roots. The tree came down and struck our client, causing severe injuries.
We pursued two parties. The property owners had a duty under South Carolina law to inspect the trees on their land and deal with those that were potentially dangerous. This particular tree was still standing but was dead, cracked, and bare, and a reasonable inspection would have shown the danger. The contractor directing the work also had a duty to provide a safe job site. It failed to assess an obvious hazard and failed to provide protective equipment as workplace safety standards require.
Injuries & Impact
Our client was airlifted to a regional trauma center. He had multiple spinal fractures, a fractured sternum, a bruised lung, and a broken hip socket. He required several surgeries, spent several months in neck and back braces, went through extensive physical therapy, and missed about five months of work. Thankfully, he made a full recovery.
The Challenge
Our client’s work arrangement complicated matters because his employer was small and was not required to carry workers’ compensation insurance. In South Carolina, if an employer does not carry workers’ compensation, an injured worker can pursue a claim against the employer for general negligence. Therefore, responsibility for the injury was split between the property owner and the employer, each with its own insurance company. Each could point to the other to avoid paying.
How We Helped
Our team documented the dead tree and the work site with photographs and satellite imagery. We built the liability case against each party on South Carolina premises-liability law and workplace safety regulations. We gathered his complete medical records and got a written opinion from his treating orthopedic surgeon about causation and future care. We then commissioned a lifetime cost projection, which estimated his future medical needs. We calculated his lost wages and damages for pain and suffering. We then made time-limited settlement demands to both insurance carriers, giving each a clear deadline to protect its insured by resolving the claim.
The Outcome
Ultimately, both insurers paid their liability limits. Together, the two claims resolved for a total of $600,000.00, and we were also able to negotiate our client’s medical bills to maximize his personal recovery. This was an extremely complicated case and an outcome with which we are very satisfied.
Every case is different. Past results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome in any future case. Settlement amounts are gross amounts before attorney’s fees and costs.
