$1,100,000 Settlement for 38-Year-Old Man Injured in a Buffalo, New York Trench Collapse Accident

John T. Guzzo v. City of Buffalo and Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority

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On October 1, 2001, thirty-eight-year-old John Guzzo was working as a cement finisher. On this particular day, Mr. Guzzo was working on a sewer tie-in at a job site on Military Road in Buffalo, New York when the 14-foot trench he was in collapsed. The trench collapse caused Mr. Guzzo serious bodily injuries.

Jed Dietrich, Esq., an experienced Buffalo, New York personal injury lawyer, aggressively and tenaciously pursued Mr. Guzzo’s personal injury claim by filing a lawsuit against the owners of the job site, the City of Buffalo and the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority. The lawsuit alleged that the defendants violated Labor Law § 241(6) by failing to adequately supervise Mr. Guzzo and/or failing to make the trench safe for Mr. Guzzo. Labor Law § 241(6) obligates contractors to provide “reasonable and adequate protection and safety” to employees and others working in areas of construction, excavation and demolition work.

As a result of the trench collapse, Mr. Guzzo suffered tears of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his knee, which required surgical intervention to repair. On February 8, 2002, Mr. Guzzo underwent arthroscopic surgery with Dr. Thaddeus Szarzanowicz, a board-certified orthopedic surgeon. Following the surgery, Mr. Guzzo required nearly eight months of physical therapy treatment to rehabilitate. Despite these attempts to repair his injured knee, Mr. Guzzo continued to suffer residual knee pain. Mr. Guzzo’s severe injuries caused him to be unable to work for nearly 2.5 years after the incident.

The defendants argued that Mr. Guzzo was negligent because he was an experienced laborer and should have shored the trench if he believed it to be unsafe. Trench shoring is a process of temporarily bracing the walls of a trench in an effort to prevent the trench from collapsing or caving in. Additionally, the defendants argued that Mr. Guzzo was able to perform a different form of work at a comparable salary, which, they argued, reduced his wage claim.

Despite the defense’s argument that Mr. Guzzo’s negligence caused the incident, Jed Dietrich, Esq. successfully battled for the compensation that Mr. Guzzo deserved for his injuries and losses. Just one day prior to selection of the jury to hear Mr. Guzzo’s case, Jed Dietrich, Esq. secured a $1,100,000 settlement for Mr. Guzzo’s losses that resulted from the October 1, 2001 incident.

Jed Dietrich, Esq. is an experienced Buffalo, New York trial attorney who always pursues the best result possible for his clients. Jed Dietrich, Esq. never takes the easy way out and never settles for less than his clients deserve. To pursue maximum compensation for his clients, Jed Dietrich, Esq. prepares each and every case as though it will go to trial. Throughout the course of a case, Jed Dietrich, Esq. works with his clients to determine the appropriate value of their case and assesses whether or not it is in the client’s best interest to agree to a settlement. Often, pre-trial settlements are in a client’s best interest. However, if a settlement offer does not adequately compensate his client, Jed Dietrich, Esq. is ready and prepared to pursue the compensation that his client deserves by going to trial.

Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.

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Call the Dietrich Law Firm P.C. immediately at (716) 839-3939 so that our aggressive, tenacious and hardworking personal injury lawyers can fight to obtain the best result for your personal injury claim in Buffalo, New York. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and there is never a fee until we WIN for you!

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