CLARK COUNTY, WA. – – Tom D’Amore, Managing Partner and owner of D’Amore Law Group, is pleased to announce that on July 13, 2015, a Washington state jury returned a $947,285 verdict against Defendants for failing to properly erect, secure, and maintain scaffolding on a construction site causing that workplace, and the practices and procedures in force therein, to be unsafe. As a result, welder and independent construction worker Charles Pamplin lost wages and income, suffered immense physical and mental pain, and incurred steep medical expenses. The case is Charles Pamplin v. Safway Services, LLC et al., case number 12-2-00764-4, in the U.S. Superior Court of Washington for Clark County.
D’Amore represented Plaintiff Charles Pamplin, who was working as an independent contractor to perform welding work at Thompson Metal Fab, Inc.’s principal place of business and construction site. Safway Services, LLC was hired as an independent contractor to provide scaffolding and scaffolding services to the construction site. On December 15, 2010, Pamplin was injured when the scaffolding supplied by Safway collapsed.
This matter was tried to a jury on July 6 – 13, 2015, before the Honorable Scott A. Collier. The jury deliberated and found that the negligence of Defendants caused Pamplin’s lifelong injury. The jury set Pamplin’s total damages at $947,285, which was reduced by thirty-five percent (35%) due to contributory fault the jury assessed to Pamplin, for a net verdict of $615,735.25.
D’Amore stated, “We’re seeing an increase in the hiring of independent contractors as it allows employers to skirt significant costs, such as providing employees with workers’ compensation benefits. This jury verdict tells independent contractors that they can still recover economic and noneconomic damages for their injuries by filing a personal injury lawsuit for negligence. Companies hiring independent contractors need to be held accountable for such injuries, and should implement thorough safety training and policies to protect workers.”
