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$675,000 result- cited in The New York Jury Verdict
Reporter
X/37-30 Roofing Accident - Laborer Falls Through
Skylight - New Jersey Site - Multiple Fractures
Tadeusz Jamiolkowski v. Bradlees, Inc.; Quality Roofing Co.,
Inc. v. Willford Realty Co., Inc. s/k/a The Stop and Shop
Companies, Inc. s/h/a Bradlees, Inc. and Quality Roofing Co. v.
Industrial Contracting 11297/89 Date of Settlement 3/1/93 Kings
Supreme
Pltf. Atty: Alan I. Zasky, Alan M. Greenberg, and John A. Holl
of Barton & Zasky, Manhattan
VERDICT: This $675,000 settlement was for a 41-year-old roofer
employed by Third-party Deft. Industrial Contracting who fell
through a skylight on a roof while attempting to apply tar to
the roof of a Bradlees building in New Jersey. The accident
occurred on 10/11/88 at 1 PM. Bradlees had contracted with
Quality Roofing to repair their roof and Quality, in turn,
subcontracted the job to Industrial Contracting. Industrial
employed 30 Polish laborers, all non-union, on this job. Pltf.
had emigrated to the U. S. from Poland in July 1988 and began
working for Industrial Contracting the next day. He did not have
any prior roofing experience.
On the date of the incident, Pltf. was told to transport hot tar
on the roof. Pltf. had never done this before but was assigned
the job due to the absence of a co-worker. The job entailed
filling a 50-gallon barrel with tar and then wheeling it on a
dolly to different areas on the roof. The tar was in a tank on a
truck in the street, and was pumped up to the roof through a
metal pipe where it would empty into the 50-gallon barrel. The
pump was activated by Pltf. on the roof by pulling on a rope
that was tied to the pump valve and tied back to a skylight on
the roof. Pltf. claimed that as he pulled on the rope, it became
loose and he was thrown backwards by his own momentum through
the plastic skylight 30 feet to the concrete floor below.
Pltf. contended that O.S.H.A. required that the skylight should
have barriers around it or a metal or wooden cover. Against
Quality Roofing, Pltf. contended that it violated New Jersey law
regarding the obligation of a general contractor to comply with
O.S.H.A. Note: Because this accident occurred in New Jersey,
Pltf. was a legal alien, and Bradlees and Quality Roofing were
foreign corporations, New Jersey law applied rather than New
York Labor Law § 240. Injuries: fractured ulna; three fractured
thoracic vertebrae; fractured hip requiring open reduction and
internal fixation with plates and pins; fractured scapula;
fractured clavicle. Pltf. was disabled from construction work
and will be returning to Poland. Demonstrative evidence: photos
of the job site. Pltf. Expert: Howard Edelson, safety engineer,
Plainview.
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