Plumber Recovers Favorable Settlement After Stairwell Collapses ($1.1 Million)


A Local 422 Union Plumber recovered $1.1 million after suffering fractures to his legs and shoulders, which resulted from a workplace accident.

The Case

The union plumber was walking up a ‘roughed’ stairwell during the course of a construction project when the stairwell collapsed beneath him.

In-Depth Look

Clifford Horwitz and Jay Luchsinger, part of the lead trial team at Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, represented the plumber.

The defendant, Monalabano Homes, claimed that the stairwell had been guarded by signs and argued that the plumber removed the guarding.

Clifford Horwitz and Jay Luchsinger proved that there was no evidence for these signs. The showed that Montalbano Homes had used a witness for the signs that was not telling the truth. They further argued that Montalbano Homes failed to adequately sequence the work between the plumbers and the carpenters. It was this illogical sequencing of work which resulted in the collapse of the staircase.