Former Worker Awarded $850,000 Settlement for 2008 Forklift Injury
By Dean I. Weitzman, Esq. on April 3rd, 2015
A former construction worker has been awarded an $850,000 settlement after he was allegedly struck and severely injured by a forklift that was being operated by another worker at a job site at the Plymouth Meeting Mall back in 2008.
Karl Lange, who was 56 years old when the incident occurred on Dec. 23, 2008, was pinned against a wall by the forklift, which was allegedly being operated by a sheet metal worker from Nasco Heating & Air Conditioning of Roselle, N.J., according to a March 31 story in The Legal Intelligencer.
Following the incident, Lange filed a personal injury lawsuit against Nasco in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, citing abdominal and other lower body injuries which left him unable to work, according to the story.
Lange was working on the site that day when he heard a forklift start nearby and approached its operator to ask if he wanted Lange to run the machine, the story reported. The forklift driver declined the offer and Lange returned to his work. Soon, however, Lange heard the forklift approaching and turned to see it backing into him and pinning him against a wall, the report continued.
The forklift operator “indicated that he had accidentally put the lift in reverse,” based on a legal memo in the case, the story reported. During testimony, Lange said that he never heard any audible reverse warnings from the forklift as it was being operated. The forklift driver apparently denied striking Lange with the machine.
The incident also caused Lange to suffer spinal injuries, impaired his gait and caused bowel and bladder dysfunction and incontinence, according to legal memos filed in the case. “According to the plaintiffs, a doctor assessing Lange said he still has trouble walking, even with a cane. The doctor said the bowel incontinence could require surgery, and the bladder incontinence could require catheter placement or self-catheterization, the memo said.”
The incident left Lange permanently disabled due to the injuries he sustained that day, the story reported. Prior to the settlement, the plaintiffs’ demand was $4 million, and the defense offer was $285,000, according to the story.
Under the settlement, Nasco agreed on March 2, a week before the case was to go to trial, to pay $850,000 to Lange and his wife, Kathy, to end the legal proceedings.
Injury cases, vehicle crashes and property losses of all kinds occur every day when innocent victims are hurt or killed through no fault of their own due to the actions or indifference of others. That’s why it is critical to have a legal team on your side that uncovers every fact to bolster your case and maximize your damage award.
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