The family of a man killed by a construction crane has reached a $17 million settlement with a Philadelphia steam plant owner.
Adam Nowak Sr., a 45-year-old father of five children, was struck and killed by a 300-pound iron hook, which fell from an industrial crane at Veolia Energy’s Schuylkill Steam Plant in 2011, Philadelphia’s WCAU-TV reported.
The wrongful death settlement is being called the largest ever in Philadelphia’s trial court system. Perhaps Nowak’s family would have received a more lucrative award had they gone to trial.
If the family had chose not to settle, they would have gone to trial on a claim that Veolia’s negligence was the cause of Nowak’s death. In a wrongful death case, a trial court must be convinced that the evidence presented makes it more than 50 percent likely that a person’s death was caused by the negligence or misconduct of the defendant.
Obviously, Veolia’s advisors suggested settling to avoid the possibility of a trial jury awarding hundreds of millions of dollars to Adam’s surviving family members. In addition, settling the case for $17 million spared the family from reliving Adam’s tragic death in a trial that could have dragged on for many months.
It is not easy to put a price on a man’s life in dollars, but the $17 million settlement will likely help supplement loss of income, support and emotional pain and suffering Nowak’s death caused.
For more information, feel free to contact one of our Gacovino Lake attorneys at 800-246-HURT (4878).
