Attorney Jonathan D. Mester, Partner

Jury Trial Results

• $2.8 Million Verdict for Worker Injured During Dismantling of Crane

Amount:	$2,800,000
Court:	Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Date:	October 2006
Plaintiff's Counsel:	Jonathan D. Mester, Thomas Mester
Description: Construction Accident Thomas Mester and Jonathan D. Mester obtained a $2.8 million jury verdict for a 59-year-old truck driver who was injured while assisting in the dismantling of a crane. The injury occurred when our client was at a job-site in Michigan. The client, who was employed by an Ohio crane rental company, had been dispatched to the Michigan job-site to pick up a piece of machinery and transport it to another project elsewhere in Michigan. When our client arrived at the Michigan job-site, he was asked by his supervisor to assist in the loading of a dismantled crane onto a flatbed truck for transport. As part of this process, our client was asked to assist the supervisor in placing a pendent line from the crane onto a forklift so it could be loaded onto the truck. As our client attempted to load the pendent line cable onto the forklift, the cable began to unwind like a snake. The client, not realizing this, bent over to pick up something, at which point the knuckle end of the cable struck him in the head. As a result, our client suffered permanent head injuries, including a serious seizure disorder which renders him unable to work as a truck driver and forced him to give up his CDL license. A lawsuit was initiated against the client's employer on the theory of employer intentional tort. To succeed under this theory, the plaintiff must prove that the employer knew of a dangerous condition, knew that subjecting the employee to the dangerous condition would be substantially certain to result in injury, and, despite this knowledge, required the employee to work in the dangerous work environment. In prosecuting this case, depositions were taken of numerous workers from the crane company. Evidence was developed showing that the crane company had hired ironworkers out of a Union assembly hall in Michigan without verifying that they were trained or taking any steps to train them. These untrained workers then wound the pendent lines for loading onto the truck without performing the important step of securing the line with wire after it was coiled. The evidence revealed that the crane company knew that if the pendent line coils were not properly secured, they had a tendency to unwind, and that this created a dangerous condition. Plaintiff thus contended that the crane company knew that failing to verify that the workers it hired to perform this task were properly trained was substantially certain to result in injury, and that, despite this knowledge, it required the plaintiff to work in this dangerous environment. The crane company, on the other hand, contended that it frequently hired union workers without checking their training, and that, because these individuals were union workers, it assumed they knew how to perform the job of dismantling a crane. The crane company moved for summary judgment on this basis, contending it had no liability in this matter. After extensive briefing to the court done by Nurenberg Paris attorney Kathleen J. St. John, the trial judge ruled that the plaintiff was entitled to have his case put before a jury. Thereafter, a one week jury trial was held, with the jury rendering a verdict for our client in the amount of $2.8 million.
Jonathan D. Mester	Thomas Mester

• Jury Returns $3.3 Million Verdict to Worker Injured in Fall from Roof

Amount:	$3,300,000
Court:	Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Date:	January 2006
Plaintiff's Counsel:	Jonathan D. Mester, Thomas Mester
Description: Medical Malpractice Our client's worker’s injury occurred on June 21, 2002, the day before his wedding. His employer, Meadowridge, Inc., was a small “mom and pop” company that performed demolition and clean-up work. Meadowridge was hired by Palmieri Builders to tear off the existing roof on a building Palmieri Builders was renovating. Palmieri Builders had worked with Meadowridge on a number of projects in the past, but had never used Meadowridge to perform a roof tear-off. Although Palmieri Builders was using a professional roofing company to re-roof the building, it chose Meadowridge to perform the tear-off at least in part for economic reasons. Prior to beginning the job, Meadowridge’s owner, unknowledgeable in this particular job, consulted with Palmieri Builders on how to perform the tear-off. Palmieri Builders assisted Meadowridge by obtaining certain equipment and extra workers to assist Meadowridge in completing the work on schedule and by arranging for another subcontractor to help Meadowridge’s employees gain access to the roof to perform their work. The roof in question was a wide flat roof, some 30 feet high, with a low lip at the edge. Federal and state law require that workers be provided with fall protection which includes barriers, body harnesses, or other similar devices. Despite these requirements, neither Palmieri Builders nor Meadowridge provided the workers performing this tear-off job with any fall protection. On the day of the worker’s injury, he and his co-worker (the only other individual employed by Meadowridge) were hauling roofing debris to the roof’s edge, from where they would pitch it into a dump truck below. His co-worker had left with the truck to dump the load. The client was in the process of accumulating the debris at the roof’s edge. He lost his balance and fell off the roof, sustaining a burst fracture of the L-1 vertebrae. This has left him with severe bowel and bladder dysfunction, as well as a life-long inability to walk without the assistance of a walker or confinement to a wheelchair. The worker filed a lawsuit against Palmieri Builders for their failure to provide fall protection. To prevail on his claim, the worker had to prove that Palmieri Builders “actively participated” in the work of Meadowridge. (Under Ohio law, a general contractor has no duty to provide fall protection to the employees of its subcontractors unless it “actively participates” in their work. Unless this is shown, the duty to provide fall protection to the subcontractor’s employees is the sole responsibility of the subcontractor.) Palmieri Builders contended it had no duty to provide fall protection, as it had not actively participated in Meadowridge’s work. The worker responded by providing evidence that Palmieri Builders had actively participated, by giving Meadowridge directions on how to perform the job, and by providing equipment and workers to facilitate Meadowridge’s performance of the job. Following a one-week trial, the jury found Palmieri Builders liable and awarded the worker $3.3 million in damages.
Jonathan D. Mester	Thomas Mester

• Jury Awards Woman $777,000 Against Negligent Surgeon

Amount:	$777,000
Court:	Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Date:	September 2000
Plaintiff's Counsel:	Jonathan D. Mester, Thomas Mester
Description: Medical Malpractice During the course of a lymph node biopsy performed by defendant, Lisa Rock, M.D., portions of the spinal accessory nerve were transected resulting in irreparable damage to the nerve and in a fusion of the shoulder. Consequently, the plaintiff's range of motion to the upper right extremity was limited on a permanent basis.
Jonathan D. Mester	Thomas Mester

Verdicts & Settlements

• $700,000 Paid by Insurance Company in Infant Wrongful Death

Amount:	$700,000
Court:	Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Date:	September 2001
Plaintiff's Counsel:	Jonathan D. Mester, William S. Jacobson
Description: Auto - Uninsured Motorist Coverage Plaintiff's baby was killed in a motor vehicle accident when an uninsured driver went left of center. The baby was ejected from the vehicle and may not have been properly restrained. The mother had two subsequent miscarriages, which we alleged were caused by depression over the loss of her child. Litigation ensued against the insurance company which issued a policy to our client's employer. Plaintiffs successfully claimed that the language of the employer's policy which defined who was an "insured" was sufficiently vague and ambiguous to include the plaintiffs. The case was settled shortly before trial.
Jonathan D. Mester	William S. Jacobson

• Nursing Home Pays $265,000 when Resident Chokes

Amount:	$265,000
Court:	Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Date:	August 2001
Plaintiff's Counsel:	Jonathan D. Mester
Description: Nursing Home / Wrongful Death Plaintiff's decedent was a 60-year-old resident in a day care program. While there, he grabbed an orange slice off another resident's tray, choked, and died. Plaintiff alleged failure to supervise as the facility was aware of his poor judgment and spontaneous conduct. Further, plaintiff alleged the facility was incapable of caring for this man and should have gotten him to a 24-hour care facility.
Jonathan D. Mester

• Hospital Settles when Elderly Patient Pulls Out Her Tracheotomy and Dies.

Amount:	$220,000
Court:	Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Date:	August 2001
Plaintiff's Counsel:	Jonathan D. Mester
Description: Nursing Home/Medical Malpractice/Wrongful Death Plaintiff's decedent was in a ventilator unit, weaning from a ventilator. On her 28th day, she pulled out her tracheotomy and died four days later. Plaintiff alleged plaintiff's decedent should have been restrained and connected to an alarm.
Jonathan D. Mester

• Surgeon Pays $535,000 after Lacerating Accessory Nerve

Amount:	$535,000
Court:	Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas
Date:	January 2001
Plaintiff's Counsel:	Jonathan D. Mester
Description: Medical Malpractice Defendant doctor cut plaintiff's spinal accessory nerve during a routine lymph node biopsy procedure. This required plaintiff to undergo a nerve repair operation leaving her with decreased mobility of her arm. This defendant had previously performed the same procedure resulting in the same injury to another of our clients.
Jonathan D. Mester

• Construction Worker Recovers in Building Collapse

Amount:	$200,000
Court:	Summit County Court of Common Pleas
Date:	October 2000
Plaintiff's Counsel:	Jonathan D. Mester, Thomas Mester
Description: Product Liability Plaintiff was at an obsolete municipal sludge disposal building in order to pick up parts from an electrical control panel. While there, a brick wall of an incinerator, being dismantled by another sludge salvage bidder, collapsed on plaintiff.
Jonathan D. Mester	Thomas Mester