$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.