Worker at sewer line. Photo: Oleg Elkov/Shutterstock.com

A Stratford attorney has secured a $1 million settlement for a 44-year-old Trumbull man who had reconstruction surgery on his right foot and ankle after a mishap at a construction site.

Attorney Ryan Miller, co-owner and partner of Miller & Morilla, represented plumber Alberto Chavez against defendant TLC Remodeling. He said Monday he had finalized the settlement Sept. 10, just days before he was to file a lawsuit.

Miller said he was adamant he wouldn't accept anything less than the $1 million insurance policy that TLC Remodeling had with Traveler's Casualty Insurance Co.

TLC's attorney, Brendan Cahill of the Cynthia M. Garraty Law Offices in Hamden, did not respond to a request for comment Monday. As part of the language of the agreement, the company is paying the settlement, but does not accept liability, and makes no admission of guilt.

But the plaintiff alleged the company put him in harm's way.

"Our allegation is that Mr. Chavez was put into a position that he was not trained for," Miller said.

Chavez was working for Mr. Rooter Plumbing of South Central Connecticut, where he was hired to go into a house and connect an underground sewer pipe. But after the job, Miller said TLC Remodeling asked Chavez to help put steel plates over a trench to cover the hole over the sewer line.

That's when the worker was injured, according to court filings.

"He was asked to hold one of the corners of the steel plate," Miller said. "As he was holding on to one of the corners, the excavation chain broke and the steel plate landed on his foot. We were told various numbers on what the steel plate weighed from hundreds of pounds to a ton."

Miller said the company was negligent.

"They had improper equipment for the steel plate," the attorney said. "They brought in too small of an excavator to handle the heavy steel plate."

The incident, which occurred April 2018 in Stamford, resulted in Chavez undergoing multiple surgeries and procedures, his attorney said.

Miller said Chavez had an amputation of the big toe on his right foot; had multiple fractures to the bones in his right foot; had tears of tendon and tissue in his right foot; had skin grafts to his right foot and ankle; and had fusion surgery to fuse the foot together using hardware. In addition, Miller said, Chavez also has been to the hospital several times since the incident for issues related to infections in the foot.

Today, Miller said his client is unable to walk without support, and has not been able to work since the incident.

"He is unsure if he will need future surgeries, or what the future holds for him." Miller said. "Mr. Chavez is a proud and hardworking guy and he really does want to get back to work some day."

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