Chicago Man Seriously Injured on the Job
S.G., 34, fell on a defective staircase while delivering Coca-Cola products to a grocery store in the Pilsen neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois. As a result of the fall, S.G. injured his left wrist and left knee, specifically a left wrist TFCC tear that required two surgeries.
S.G. parked his Coca-Cola truck alongside the grocery store approximately thirty feet from the staircase to the grocery store. Before making the delivery, he asked the store manager to make his delivery through the front entrance, a street-level entrance with no stairs. The manager refused, insisting that S.G. make the delivery using a staircase that was crumbling and garbage-filled.
As S.G. descended the staircase pushing a two-wheel hand truck, its wheels came into contact with garbage and crumbling concrete on the steps that caused the two-wheeler to “shoot forward,” and causing S.G. to fall. S.G. braced his fall with his left hand and landed on his left knee. He immediately called his Supervisor to report the accident and injuries he suffered.
Lipkin & Apter’s Personal Injury and Workers’ Comp Filings
Lipkin & Apter filed both a workers’ compensation claim for S.G. and a personal injury claim against the store owners and management.
The Workers’ Compensation Claim
S.G. underwent surgery on his wrist to repair the TFCC tear and an “ulnar shortening,” a procedure where a few millimeters of his left ulna (arm bone) was removed so that his wrist could properly heal from the TFCC tear. Approximately one year later, S.G. underwent a second surgery to remove the surgical hardware in his arm due to irritation to him. He missed one month of full-time work and after returning, worked eight months of light-duty. When S. G. was released from care by his hand surgeon, we resolved his Workers’ Compensation claim for approximately $35,000.00 or 22.5% loss of a hand.
The Personal Injury Case Against the Store Owner
In the personal injury lawsuit against the store owners, we alleged that they failed to maintain their premises safely for the use of delivery persons and that they carelessly and negligently directed S.G. to use the stairway in order to complete his delivery. The defense argued that the injury did not take place on the job and, even if it did, S.G. knew that the stairway was dangerous from prior deliveries he made to the store. On the eve of trial, we resolved S.G.’s personal injury case for $200,000.00. This resolution resulted in a total recovery of $235,000.00.
At Lipkin & Apter our goal is always to obtain full and fair compensation for our client, however the accident occurred, without regard to the Defendant, their insurance company, or legal representatives. Schedule a consultation with our personal injury attorneys in Chicago today.