Court Upholds $68 Million Jury Award Over 2021 Fatal Philadelphia Fall

• A Pennsylvania Supreme Court judge last week upheld a $68.5 million jury verdict in a wrongful death case brought by the wife and child of an immigrant siding-installation worker who fell to his death while working on a small Philadelphia apartment project in late 2021.
• Judge Angelo Foglietta ruled that the verdict was supported by the record and was not grossly excessive. He also stated that there was no evidence of bias, prejudice, or ill will in the award.
  The construction company of prominent city developer Ori Feibush was held liable.
• In the lower court’s June 2024 decision that was upheld, the judge said in their ruling that the evidence in the case showed the developer “cut corners on this project at every turn, and it had tragic consequences. Management of this construction project was a labyrinth of corporate structure designed to protect the developers. Instead, construction projects need to be set up to protect workers. The jury saw through [developer] OCF’s shell games.”
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NY Asbestos Handler’s Injuries Ruled Not Compensable Occupational Disease

• A New York Appellate court upheld the denial of an asbestos worker’s claim for repetitive stress injuries because the claimant did not sustain a compensable occupational disease.
• The December ruling in Matter of Kretunski v Citywide Envtl. Servs. LLC (2024 NY Slip Op 06255), the Appellate court said “an occupational disease is a disease resulting from the nature of [the] employment and contracted therein and does not derive from a specific condition peculiar to an employee’s place of work, nor from an environmental condition specific to the place of work.”
• The court said that plaintiff Marian Kretunski failed to establish a recognizable link their condition and “a distinctive feature of his or her occupation through the submission of competent medical evidence.”
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NY WCB Continues Workers’ Comp 101 Series

• New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board is continuing its Advocate for Injured Workers webinar series for employees this week.
• During these updated sessions, the Board’s Advocate for Injured Workers will cover the basics of the workers’ compensation system, including employees’ rights if they become injured or ill on the job.
• The one-hour virtual presentations will be held beginning at 11 am ET on Jan. 7, Feb. 5 and March 4.
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