By Amaris Elliott-Engel

A New Jersey construction worker who became a quadriplegic after a fall at a construction site has secured settlements totaling more than $13 million with seven defendants.

Jose Alves, then 33, fell at an office building construction site in Lionville, Chester County, Feb. 15, 2005, after a roof truss broke during the problematic installation of the truss, according to the plaintiff's mediation memorandum in Alves v. Eagle Crane Service.

Alves, of Beverly, N.J., had no fall protection, the plaintiff's papers said.

Defendants in the Philadelphia Common Pleas action contributing to the $13.275 million settlement, according to John M. Dodig of Feldman Shepherd Wohlgelernter Tanner Weinstock & Dodig, included D. Fickler Construction, of Downingtown, Pa., the general contractor of the construction project; Eagle Crane Service, of New Castle, Del., the crane operator on the construction project; Layne Thomas Builders, of Wilmington, Del., the carpentry subcontractor on the construction project; A-Z Support Company, of Stowe, Pa., a safety consultant on the construction project; H.M. Stauffer & Sons, of Leola, Pa., the manufacturer of the roof truss; Alpine Engineered Products, of Philadelphia, the company that drew up the truss installation drawings; and Walter & Jackson, of Christiana, Pa., the supplier of the truss, according to court papers.

According to Dodig, D. Fickler agreed to pay the plaintiff $3.3 million, Eagle Crane $3 million, Layne Thomas $2 million, and A-Z Support Company $575,000. In three separate accords where the dollar figures were kept confidential, Dodig said, H.M. Stauffer, Alpine and Walter & Jackson agreed to contribute to the global settlement of Alves' claims.

During the roof truss installation, Alves was standing on the top of an exterior wall of the building under construction, another worker stood on another exterior wall at the opposite end of the truss, and a third worker stood at the center beam as they attempted to place the roof truss, according to plaintiff's papers.

The roof truss was not large enough to fit on a steel roof beam, so the job's leaders decided that the truss needed to be cut in order to fit on the beam, according to court papers. When the truss was set on the beam by sliding the beam through the truss by a crane, the truss became stuck, according to court papers.

Then, the truss broke after Eagle crane operator Mike Milburn unexpectedly lifted the truss up, the plaintiff's memorandum said. Alves was knocked off the roof by the force of the truss, landing head-first on the ground. Alves' C3 vertebrae fractured, paralyzing him.

Crane operator Eagle Crane supplied a 9-foot spreader bar, when the spreader bar should have been 27 feet to 36 feet, according to plaintiff's papers. Spreader bars are used to stabilize roof trusses as the trusses are being lifted by the crane and the undersized spreader bar put too much force on the wooden truss, Dodig said.

According to Eagle Crane's answer to the Alves complaint, Eagle Crane said that Alves was contributorily negligent and that it denied causing or contributing the "occurrence of the accident described in plaintiff's complaint or to any injury."

Eagle Crane defense counsel Adam Pantano, of Deasey Mahoney & Bender, said the Alves case was a difficult one involving issues of comparative negligence, so "it was a good settlement for everybody. He had some serious injuries."

Alves argued that D. Fickler, the general contractor, and Layne Thomas Builders, the carpentry subcontractor, violated federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations requiring a fall protection plan and failed to provide a safe place to work.

According to D. Fickler's answer to the Alves complaint, D. Fickler "denied all allegations of negligence, carelessness and recklessness" and that the truss was too small to fit on the steel beam.

According to Layne Thomas' answer, Layne Thomas denied that any of Alves' injuries were caused by its acts and denied that it had violated any safety regulations.

Alves argued that A-Z Support Company, which was hired by D. Fickler to develop a safety program for the work site, failed to stop work at the site despite numerous safety violations there, according to the plaintiff's memorandum.

A-Z Support Company denied in its answer that "any action or inaction on the part of A-Z Support Company" caused or contributed to Alves' accident.

The construction project was "a calamity of errors with enough negligence to go around ... Mr. Alves was attempting to secure a wooden truss 14 feet above the ground standing on a top wall without any form of fall protection when he was knocked off the wall," Dodig said.

Alves argued that the roof truss manufacturer, H.M. Stauffer, didn't provide adequate instructions on how to cut the truss, so Alves and his co-workers struggled to install the truss to fit it around the roof beam and increased the risk that the installation would turn dangerous, according to the plaintiff's mediation memorandum. Instead, the instructions should have clearly shown that the center of the truss should be cut out before being installed on the steel roof beam, the plaintiff's papers said.

H.M. Stauffer denied in its answer that its roof truss product lacked all necessary safety features or that it failed to provide adequate warnings to Alves' employer. "On the contrary, the product was safe," the answer said.

Alpine's computer instructions also didn't provide clear instructions, Alves argued. Walter & Jackson also failed in its duty to supply a product that was reasonably safe for its intended use, Alves said.

Alpine denied in its answer that it "designed, manufactured, tested, sold, distributed and/or placed" a defective product into the stream of commerce.

Walter & Jackson said in its answer that it was entitled to indemnification as a seller of the product under the products liability law principles and that Alves' injuries weren't due to any defect in the product itself.

Alves' statutory employer was Toncler Construction, a subcontractor used to raise exterior walls and install roof trusses, according to court papers.

Edward L. Edelstein, of Margolis Edelstein, was the mediator. The case settled Aug. 25.

Alves is currently at John Montgomery are Center in Freehold, N.J., according to plaintiff's papers. Alves and his family want Alves to be cared for at home, but the workers' compensation carrier will only pay for Alves' care in an institutional setting.

"The settlement proceeds will take care of Mr. Alves and his two young daughters for the rest of their lives and provide Mr. Alves with the medical care he needs, including home nursing care," Dodig said.

Alves' medical expenses have been paid by workers' compensation carrier Liberty Mutual. Liberty Mutual has a medical lien of $2,218,989.59, according to plaintiff's papers.

Dodig expects that the medical lien will be significantly reduced or waived if Liberty Mutual agrees to waive the lien in exchange for being released from providing future benefits, leading to a total recovery of about $15 million for Alves.

Jason A. Daria, also of Feldman Shepherd, was the plaintiff's co-counsel.

D. Fickler's defense counsel, Philip D. Priore of McCormick & Priore, Layne Thomas' defense counsel, Glenn M. Campbell of Gibley & McWilliams, H.M. Stauffer's defense counsel, Kathleen D. Wilkinson of Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker, Alpine's defense counsel, Thomas L. Delevie of Palmer & Barr and Walter & Jackson's defense counsel, Gordon Erdenberger, a Doylestown solo practitioner, could not be reached for comment.

A-Z Support Company's defense counsel, Joseph F. Van Horn of Bodell Bove Grace & Van Horn, declined comment.