Greenberg and Ruby Injury Attorneys obtained a $500,000 settlement for a client who suffered a head injury and permanent injury to his eye after falling from a scaffold while performing framing work on a new apartment building in Ventura County.

The defendants disputed responsibility for the accident. They denied that they owned or provided the mobile scaffold from which our client fell and argued that they were protected from liability under California's Privette doctrine.

The defendants sought to have the case dismissed through a motion for summary judgment. We opposed the motion and defeated their attempt to dispose of the case before trial.

Insurance Coverage Became Another Issue

Defeating the defendants' motion for summary judgment did not end the dispute. After the motion was defeated, the defendants' insurance company began denying coverage.

We continued pursuing the case despite the additional coverage dispute and fully prepared to take the matter to trial.

Ultimately, we reached a $500,000 settlement. The settlement was funded partially by the insurance company and partially by the defendant general contractor.

The result demonstrates why third-party construction injury cases can require attorneys to address multiple layers of legal and insurance issues. In this case, we had to overcome disputed responsibility for the scaffold, a Privette doctrine defense, a motion for summary judgment, and an insurance coverage dispute while continuing to prepare the case for trial.

Result: $500,000 settlement
Location: Ventura County, California
Accident: Fall from mobile scaffold while performing framing work
Injuries: Head injury and permanent eye injury