Electrician awarded $1M settlement after fall from ladder

Charlie Weeks, an electrician from Dearborn, won a $1 million personal injury settlement under a Liberty Mutual Insurance policy carried by his employer, Bates Electric in St. Louis, after a co-worker caused the collapse of a ladder Weeks was using.

The incident occurred while Weeks, now 51, was on a ladder stringing electrical wire in an area between the actual ceiling and the false ceiling.

While Weeks was on the ladder, a co-worker, Shawn Wood, climbed up the bracing on the backside of the ladder, attempting to help Weeks thread the wiring above the false ceiling.

“When the ladder started to break up, Wood jumped off and then the ladder just broke down and my client landed on his shoulder,” said Tom Hershewe of Dollar, Burns and Becker in Kansas City and who represented Weeks. “This was a no-brainer liability.”

Jessica Beever, an attorney with Evans and Dixon in Kansas City, and who represented the defendant, Wood, didn’t return calls seeking comment.

Meanwhile, Hershewe said that Weeks had a massive tear in his rotator cuff and has had two surgeries since the 2012 accident. Weeks’ doctors have told him he will eventually need a total shoulder replacement, Hershewe said.

The case settled on Sept. 26, 10 days before it was scheduled to go to trial.

$1 million verdict

Personal injury
Venue: Buchanan County Circuit Court
Case Number/Date: 12BU-CV03721/Sept. 26, 2013
Judge: Weldon Judah
Plaintiff’s Experts: Dr. Daniel Stechschulte Jr. Leawood, Kan. (treating physician); Dr. Steven Hendler, Leawood, Kan. (treating physician); Michael Dreiling, Leawood, Kan. (vocational rehabilitation expert); Kathie Allison, Kansas City (life care planner); and Kurt Krueger, Prairie Village, Kan. (economist)
Defendant’s Expert: Bud Langston, Topeka, Kan. (vocational rehabilitation expert)
Caption: Charles A. Weeks v. Shawn Wood
Plaintiff’s Attorney: Tom Hershewe, Dollar, Burns and Becker, Kansas City
Defendant’s Attorney: Jessica Beever, Evans and Dixon,
Kansas City