New Jersey accident results in $3.7 million settlement

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A construction accident at a New Jersey residence has resulted in a $3.7 million settlement. The worker was badly injured in a fall, and the accident may have occurred because of faulty scaffolding. There was confusion concerning the terms of the settlement because it is unclear who the construction worker was employed with at the time that the accident occurred. There was also a question as to whether members of a family run company were hiding behind a sham corporation status to protect themselves from liability. Unfortunately, such legal complications are inevitable whenever questions regarding workers' compensation arise. Companies do sometimes hide behind legal formalities and hold themselves out as a corporation to protect themselves from being personally held accountable for negligent acts. In the above circumstances, liability could have been with the family that owned the residence where the accident occurred. It's also possible that that the employer, whichever employer that may have been, would have been responsible for the injuries that occurred to the worker. Finally, maybe there was fault with the quality of materials that went into building the scaffolding. All such matters needed to be investigated before liability could actually be assessed against the negligent parties. This is why it is always recommended to work with attorneys that understand both workers' compensation law and personal injury to make sure full compensation is received for one's injuries. Otherwise, potential defendants may continually attempt to shift the blame or hide behind the laws in order that they only pay a minimum if any compensation for injuries that did occur. Source: MineolaPatch, "Mineola Man Receives $3.7M Settlement in Injury Suit," March 8, 2012