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Defense Verdict
03/06/06
Contact
John T. Donovan
(215) 575-4254
John T. Donovan, obtained a defense verdict on behalf of Target Corporation after a two week jury trial before the Honorable Judge Greg Smith in the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County in the matter of John Braun, an incapacitated person v. Jeffrey Brown and Target. Braun was a thirty-one year old steel erector who worked for Thomas Lindstrom and Company. As a result of an eighteen foot fall on November 29, 2002, Braun suffered a severe brain stem contusion, basilar skull fracture and lower lobe pneumothorax which resulted in severe cognitive deficits, aphasia, dysphagia, nonfunctional left upper extremity and incontinence of bowel and bladder. Plaintiff's lost wages were estimated by his experts to be in excess of 4.6 million dollars and his future care in any nursing home would be in excess of 11 million dollars.
Plaintiff originally sued Target, the owner of the property, Jeffrey Brown, the general contractor and Thomas Lindstrom. In the middle of the trial, the Workers' Compensation Appeal Board awarded benefits to Braun and Lindstrom was dismissed. Jeffrey Brown was dismissed at the close of plaintiff's case based on the statutory employer defense. Plaintiff's case against Target was that as the owner of the site, they retained site specific control of the construction operations. Target had an on site representative on the construction project who controlled certain aspects of the job. Plaintiff argued that Target should have enforced a six foot tie rule for all steel connectors, a rule enforced by other owners in the area. The rule enforced by Target was mandatory tie off at thirty feet.
In response, Target contended that they delegated safety responsibility to general contractor Brown and its standards were consistent with OSHA. Target also argued that the plaintiff was legally intoxicated at the time of the fall. At the Frankford Hospital Emergency Room, plaintiff's blood alcohol content was in excess of .23. This evidence was the subject of many motions in limine because no one on the jobsite would testify that Braun appeared impaired and he had, as a matter of fact, been connecting all morning at eighteen feet in the air without tying off. In response, Target presented the evidence of one of Braun's co-employees who acknowledged having "two beers" with him at lunch.
After two days of deliberations, the jury concluded that Target was not negligent.
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