SETTLEMENT: Fall from roof during construction project
On August 6, 2007, Victor Carrillo, a 46-year-old roofer employed by JJ Roofing, was working at a job site in Rialto, California. Mr. Carillo, along with another employee, was installing fire retardant paper when his foot was caught in a gap. This caused him to stumble, and then fall over a parapet wall on the edge of the roof. He fell 15 feet to the ground, and sustained catastrophic spinal cord injuries.
There were several subcontractors working on this particular site, including Shannon Finch Inc. who was hired to do rough carpentry and framing. All of these subcontractors were under the direction of the general contractor, Rossetti Construction Company, Inc, who was legally responsible for making sure the job site was safe for each worker.
The fall was a result of a half-inch depression in the roof deck and a two-inch vertical gap at the base of the parapet wall. The contract documents did not call for the depression or gap, and the general contractor did not know if the parapet wall was built in compliance with the construction plan.
Mr. Carillo sustained fractures to his C4, C5, and C6 vertebrae, resulting in tetraplegic paralysis. The catastrophic injuries will require a lifetime of care. The case settled for $5.3 million.