Lipe, Pontikis and Kelly Settle a Construction Case for Less Than 7% of Plaintiff’s Initial Demand
February 4, 2015Jeff Lipe, Tom Pontikis and Ryan Kelly recently achieved an extremely favorable settlement on behalf of a crane company in a lawsuit brought by an ironworker in the Circuit Court of Cook County. In that case, the plaintiff alleged that a load of steel decking weighing more than 5,000 pounds was swung into his leg, causing injury to his knee. The plaintiff underwent six surgeries to his knee and alleged that he would never work as an ironworker again. Summary Judgment was granted on behalf of the crane company on Section 414 and Section 343 grounds. Thereafter, the plaintiff’s claim proceeded solely as a negligence claim. The plaintiff’s initial demand was $1.2 million plus a waiver of the workers’ compensation lien. The plaintiff lowered his demand prior to mediation to $800,000 plus a waiver of the workers’ compensation lien. The case settled at mediation for less than 7% of the plaintiff’s initial demand.