A heating and air conditioning contractor who suffered a head injury in a fall at a construction site has agreed to settle his Essex County suit, Cambra v. R. D. Ghigliotty Custom Builder, for $1.75 million, settling most recently with one defendant on Feb. 28.

John Cambra of Bayville, a self-employed heating and air conditioning contractor, was on a job site at a new home under construction in Bayville on May 15, 2017, when he fell 25 feet into an empty elevator shaft. Cambra was on the third floor of the home, discussing the project with general contractor Philip Ghigliotty of R.D. Ghigliotty Custom Builder, when he took a step backward and fell into the unprotected elevator shaft, according to counsel.

Cambra, then 51, sustained multiple fractures of his pelvis, hip, forearm and wrist. He also sustained a closed-head, concussive-type injury. He underwent multiple surgical procedures and required extensive physical therapy, claimed the suit, filed against R.D. Ghigliotty and the framing subcontractor, Express Construction 30 Corp. of Elizabeth.

Evidence revealed that Express Construction 30 was obligated by government regulations to install a safety guard around the elevator shaft, said Raymond Gill Jr. of Gill & Chamas in Woodbridge, who represented Cambra. That company's principal, Eduardo Ordonez Corte, testified that he instructed one of his employees to install a barrier made of lumber around the shaft but the worker failed to do so, according to Gill.

The parties agreed to a $1.75 million settlement in talks with Peter Doyne, a former Superior Court judge now with Ferro, Labella & Weiss in Hackensack. Express Construction 30 agreed on Feb. 28 to pay its $900,000 share of the settlement, and R.D. Ghiglotty agreed on Dec. 16, 2019, to pay $850,000.

R.D. Ghiglotty was represented by Brian Murphy of Norton, Murphy, Sheehy & Corrubia in Woodland Park, who declined to discuss the case.

Express Construction 30 Corp. was represented by Braden Farber of Farber, Brocks & Zane in Westfield. He did not return a call about the case.

— Charles Toutant

$750K in Middlesex Auto Case

Akel v. Ramsay: A man involved in a rear-end accident who claimed his injuries required spinal surgery was paid a $750,000 settlement in his Middlesex County suit on Feb. 7.

On Sept. 8, 2015, Ilia Akel, then 49, was driving in North Brunswick and stopped for a red light at Livingston Avenue and How Lane, and was struck from behind by a truck owned by Master Development Inc. of New York and driven by company employee Ross Ramsay Jr. Akel was hospitalized and treated for neck and back injuries, according to his lawyer, James Maggs of Maggs, McDermott & DiCicco in Wall Township.

The suit claimed Ramsay negligently failed to stop. The defense disputed liability and causation, according to Christopher Block of Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman & Goggin in Roseland, counsel to the defendants.

Akel later underwent a three-level lumbar decompression. He returned to work as a service station worker but can no longer perform certain tasks, Maggs said. The suit claimed Akel has ongoing neck and back pain because of the accident.

Maggs said a defense expert opined that Akel's spinal condition was preexisting and degenerative, which Akel disputed.

The parties were approaching trial when they settled on Jan. 3 in conference with Middlesex County Superior Court Judge Michael Cresitello Jr. The defendants, insured by NGM Insurance Co., paid on Feb. 7.

Block confirmed the settlement.

— David Gialanella