Marcantonio v. JW Carrigan

Defense Verdict

Date of Verdict: Oct. 25.

Court and Case No.: C.P. Philadelphia No. 2018-002322.

Type of Action: Personal injury.

Injuries: Knee injury.

Plaintiffs Counsel: David Kwass, Saltz Mongeluzzi, Philadelphia.

Defense Counsel: Paul Leary, Cozen O'Conner, Philadelphia.

Comment:

A worker who sued an electrical company after being injured by a piece of equipment during the construction of the second Comcast tower in Philadelphia has lost his case.

The jury in Philadelphia Judge Angelo Foglietta's courtroom found unanimously in favor of defendants JW Carrigan and Kevin Lynch, the operator of the scissor lift that plaintiff Arthur Marcantonio claimed ran over his foot.

Paul Leary of Cozen O'Conner represented the defendants and David Kwass of Saltz Mongeluzzi Barret & Bendesky represented Marcantonio.

Leary said that his team was able to prevail because of "inconsistencies" in Marcantonio's lawsuit.

"It was a hotly contested trial that hinged on substantial disputes over liability, and numerous inconsistencies we exposed in plaintiff's case along with key social media impeachment evidence," Leary said in an email. "I enjoyed going up against plaintiff's counsel as we let each other try our case and Judge Foglietta facilitated that throughout the trial."

He continued, "Our clients have lived with this matter for a few years so it was great to see the expression of relief and vindication on their face when the jury found they were not negligent in operating the scissor lift." 

Kwass said it was a tough case, but ultimately a fair fight.

"We are committed here to trying even tough cases and we are committed to protecting and forwarding the interest of men and women in the building trades," he said. "The defense was able to point out that Mr. Marcantonio, after the initial incident with the scissor lift, did not actually make any complaints after three weeks about his knee. I think that probably had a lot to do with why the jury was ultimately suspicious about the injury."

Kwass added, "what compounded the problem was that when Arthur did get treatment for the knee he neglected that he had a knee injury the prior year. Judge Foglietta called a fair fight, we had a chance to go to the jury but they had suspicions about the case … We respect the process."

Kwass said he does anticipate filing an appeal of the verdict.

The accident occurred Dec. 4, 2015. Marcantonio worked for general contracor, LF Driscoll. Lynch, a foreman for JW Carrigan, operated a scissor lift that Marcantonio alleged ran him over, ultimately resulting in ongoing treatment and a total knee replacement.

Marcantonio alleged an approximated loss of $1 million in wages, plus pain and suffering.

His complaint said that while no one saw him get run over by the lift, Marcantonio's two nearby coworkers responded to his cries for help.

"Though neither man actually witnessed the accident, both explained that their attention was drawn back to the location by Mr. Marantonio's cries," his pretrial memorandum said.

The defendants' court papers characterized the event as a "minor incident" and that Lynch exercised due caution.

"The unrefuted evidence demonstrates that Mr. Lynch was continuously checking in all directions in the moments leading up to the incident to ensure maneuver of the 3,000 pound scissor lift, which he was operating at less than .2 miles per hour while sounding its back-up beeper just before the incident occurred," the defendant's pretrial memorandum said.

—P.J. D'Annunzio, of the Law Weekly