CONSTRUCTION PREMISES LIABILITY

CONSTRUCTION PREMISES LIABILITY

Donald was a 33-year-old construction worker who had recently recovered from a moderate knee injury. In 2012, approximately one month after returning to work without restriction, he was working at the site of the UW Husky Stadium rebuild when he received a radio call informing him that a co-worker had arrived with a truckload of sheet metal to be unloaded. Donald approached the truck, and together with a co-worker, began removing the straps which had secured the load during transit. At one point, as he stepped backwards away from the truck, his left leg sank into a three-foot hole in the ground that was precariously covered by a small piece of plywood. The fall caused a significant tear in his meniscus.

Donald retained a prominent attorney to attempt to settle the claim. However, given that there were many potentially at-fault parties, the attorney rightly suspected that it would be a complicated litigation which would take significant time and attention. Each of the companies involved had asserted that they bore no fault for the incident and would never pay Donald a penny. The attorney decided to enlist Mike Maxwell’s help in litigating the case. Together, Mike and the attorney filed suit against four different companies who had control over the location of the fall.

After 13 months of complicated and aggressive litigation, with multiple motions hearings and depositions, Mike and the attorney were able to negotiate a $220,000 settlement for Donald.