A $17.5 million settlement has been reached by the Pennsylvania families of two men involved in a tragic construction accident in January of 2001. Scotty Bruce and Thomas Stinson were allegedly repairing a shaft alignment problem at the Fountains at Logan Square retirement community construction site, when the two men rapidly fell 30 feet in the elevator shaft.
Bruce suffered severe life long brain injuries, as well as shoulder and back damage. Stinson died the day following the accident in the hospital. The family members initially brought a $20 million suit against the construction sites general contractor, the owner of the building and the lumber companies responsible for the faulty scaffolding.
Settlements have been reached this week ordering Uniwest, the project’s general contractor, to pay the plaintiff $9.5 million in damages. The wood provider companies settled at $3 million each and the retirement community will recompense an additional $2 million for the settlement.
According to the plaintiff’s attorney, the family of 35-year-old Thomas Stinson will be awarded $3.5 million from the settlement, and the family of 35-year-old Robert Bruce will claim $14 million in damages for victim’s debilitating and lifelong injuries.
During the trial, the defense argued that neither of the experienced construction workers were wearing the proper “fall arrest protection” safety equipment at the time of the fall. The plaintiff countered however, that the two men had been ordered to complete the task, despite the lack of appropriate precautions due to time constraints.
The $17.5 million settlement reached in a state court in Philadelphia is now the third largest settlement to be reported in the past 18 months in a Pennsylvania federal or state court.
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