SCAFFOLD ACCIDENT – ASBESTOS WORKER FALLS AND SUFFERS TORN SHOULDER TENDONS – WINS VERDICT OF NEARLY $1M

Court:  New York Supreme, Queens
Parties: Dang, plaintiff v. Reader’s Digest Ass’n & Broson Maintenance Corp., defendants

Mr. Calender’s client, Mr. Kyongman Dang, an asbestos removal worker, fell from a 10-foot scaffold at a Reader's Digest building while spraying water from a hose. The scaffold was not equipped with guardrails, nets or other safety devices. Mr. Dang fractured his nose, lost three front teeth, sustained a disc injury in his neck, and loss of hearing in his left ear. There were no witnesses to the accident besides Mr. Dang. After presentation of the case on behalf of Mr. Dang, including his testimony and cross-examination by the attorneys for Readers Digest and Broson Maintenance Corp., Mr. Calender argued to the trial judge that the issue of liability should be withdrawn from the jury and determined by the judge as a matter of law. He asked the judge to rule as a matter of law that the defendants were negligent and that the only issue to go to the jury should be the amount of compensation to which Mr. Dang was entitled. The trial judge agreed. After hearing medical evidence from Mr. Dang and his doctors, the jury awarded him $866,291. Unfortunately, in a post-trial motion made by the defendants’ attorneys that the award was excessive, the trial judge agreed and reduced Mr. Dang’s award to $360,000.