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In a wrongful death case, Estate of Montero v. ABN Realty, a construction worker who fell from a forklift was paid a $2 million settlement from the developer and subcontractor involved in the project.

The settlement—disbursed on Dec. 18 after an agreement was reached on Nov. 15—paid the estate of Michael Montero $1 million each from ABN Realty Company LLC and GK Brothers Construction LLC. Montero was single and without children when the fall occurred that ended his life, according to the estate's lawyer, Gerald Clark of the Clark Law Firm in Belmar.

Funds were distributed to Montero's parents, Miguel and Anna Montero, who are named beneficiaries of the estate, and with whom the plaintiff lived in Elizabeth prior to his death, Clark said.

The incident occurred in 2016 during the construction of a banquet hall facility in Pompton Plains, known as The Castle. The owner and developer, Wayne-based ABN Realty Co. hired several subcontractors to perform the actual work of constructing the banquet hall. Among them was GK Brothers out of Belleville, according to Clark.

GK was hired to install copper finial ornaments at the top of several points on the building as high as 50 feet. ABN had a large industrial Caterpillar forklift on the project which it permitted GK to use to do the work, the suit claimed.

On Nov. 18, 2016, the owner of GK put a wood pallet on the forks and directed two employees, including 21-year-old Montero, to stand on the pallet so he could rise high enough to install the finials. For several hours, the workers were in plain view, working as high as 50 feet up to do the work, while neither was wearing a harness or fall-protection gear, Clark said.

The suit alleged Montero was directed to stand on the pallet to be able to retrieve a ladder on a roof where one of the finials was installed. As Montero was being brought down, the forks detached from the forklift, causing Montero to fall about 20 feet. He sustained blunt force injuries and died minutes later, according to Clark.

In August 2018, Clark filed a wrongful death complaint on behalf of the estate.

Clark maintained that ABN Realty and GK Brothers were negligent and caused Montero's death. Clark said that, as the developer and contractor, both ABN and GK had a joint, nondelegable responsibility to maintain a safe work site, and to make sure all contractors on the job followed Occupational Safety and Health Administration and other industry safety standards.

"Directing workers on a platform on a forklift is dangerous and against basic safety rules," Clark said in a phone call. "Neither the driver of the forklift nor any of the workers had any safety training."

Clark further alleged that safety was mismanaged at the site, which lacked even a basic set of safety rules available to hand out to employees to prevent such falls. All workers exposed to fall hazards of six feet or more have to be protected with a harness and lanyard or other protection, according to Clark.

Linton W. Turner of Mayfield, Turner, O'Mara & Donnelly in Cherry Hill was counsel for ABN Realty. Turner did not return a call for comment.

Patrick J. McDonald of Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas in New Brunswick represented GK Brothers. McDonald was also not available for comment.

The $2 million settlement amount was "the full amount of the available insurance limits," Clark said. He noted the case was never scheduled for trial.