In this case, our client was hurt when he tripped and fell at a New York City Board of Education construction project. The project was to renovate a kitchen in a school in Queens. Our client fell over a conduit – or “stub up” – that was to be used to bring hot and cold water to a sink in the new kitchen. In defending the case, the lawyers for the school were adamant that the stub up was not a defective condition as it was a part of and thus integral to the construction of the building. The lawyers relied on various provisions of the Industrial Code, which was meant to protect workers, to support their claim. In responding to the school’s motion, we were able to find a long line of cases from the early 1900’s explaining that a defective condition is a defective condition and that whether or not the condition is part of the ultimate design of the building makes no difference – the safety of the worker is paramount. The Court sided with our arguments. Once we successfully opposed the motion, the parties stipulated to a $2 million settlement, along with a waiver of the $330,000 workers’ compensation lien.
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