Lowe Eklund Wakefield & Mulvihill Co., LPA Attorney Wins $800,000 Settlement in Construction Injury Case

CLEVELAND, Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Trial attorney Greg Scott of Lowe Eklund Wakefield & Mulvihill Co., LPA (www.lewm.com) obtained an $800,000 settlement for client Billy Hill, who suffered serious injuries when he was crushed by a large stack of drywall as a result of a construction accident.

In July 2009, Hill, an employee of JAG Drywall, was hanging drywall on a Cleveland job site. He was seriously injured when a 3,200-pound stack of drywall that was leaning against a stud wall fell over and crushed his right leg and foot. Chris Porter, a foreman employed by Midland Contracting, Inc., was working on the other side of the stud wall when the incident occurred. Midland denied any wrongdoing on the part of Porter and insisted that the drywall must have fallen over as a result of vibration or not being stacked properly by another company.

Lowe Eklund Wakefield & Mulvihill Co., LPA, a recognized leader in the areas of product liability, personal injury and medical malpractice, was called to fight Midland Contracting and its insurance company.

"Even though construction injury cases can be quite complex, involving insurance companies and sometimes multiple defendants, it's important for the injured victim to move quickly to provide a settlement as fast as possible," explained Scott, a partner in the firm who served as lead counsel in the case. "In many cases, a favorable settlement depends on taking just the right approach in presenting the claim. That's where our firm's deep construction expertise and access to key resources make a difference for our clients."

To help build the case, Scott hired an engineering expert to conduct multiple force tests under conditions identical to those surrounding the accident. The results proved that no matter how the stack of drywall had been placed at the location, the only way it could have fallen was if a direct force was applied to it. Since Porter was the only person working near the stack of drywall, he is the only one who could have pushed it. Scott also hired an expert in construction industry practices who testified that the drywall had been delivered and stacked properly. Finally, Scott located a key witness who later testified that he had seen Porter struggling near the stack of drywall and push on it.

In addition to proving that Porter caused the accident, Scott hired several other expert witnesses to establish that Hill would likely never be able to return to work as a construction worker because of his injuries, and that he would likely lose several hundreds of thousands of dollars in future income. Scott was prepared to call a total of eight expert witnesses at trial to testify on both liability and damages for Hill.

Because the mounting evidence and expert testimony offered by the plaintiff was too much to overcome, Midland Contracting's insurance company ultimately paid $800,000 to settle the case about one month before going to trial.  

Since 1976, the award-winning trial attorneys at Lowe Eklund Wakefield & Mulvihill Co., LPA have successfully represented people in the areas of motor vehicle accidents, automobile product safety, home and workplace safety, medical malpractice, and birth injuries, as well as families of victims of wrongful death. U.S. News & World Report recently named Lowe Eklund Wakefield & Mulvihill Co., LPA to its 2010 "Best Law Firms" list, while lawyers from the firm were again honored as Ohio SuperLawyers for 2011.

For more information on Lowe Eklund Wakefield & Mulvihill Co., LPA, please call 216-781-2600 or visit http://www.lewm.com/.

SOURCE Lowe Eklund Wakefield & Mulvihill Co., LPA

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