$25 Million Verdict Reached for Man Who Fell Through Skylight

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Attorneys Fred Eisenberg, and Todd Schoenhaus achieved a verdict in excess of $24.8 million for their clients, Michele Kalinowski and her husband Sean Kalinowski, who was severely and permanently injured after falling through a skylight while working on a roof in County. The nearly four-week trial was held in the Philadelphia Common Court of Common Pleas before the Honorable Lisa Rau. After two days of deliberations, the jury of twelve reached its verdict, which included approximately $19 million in economic damages and $6 million in non-economic damages.

In June of 2016, Mr. Kalinowski was working alone on the roof of an auto body shop in Aston when tragically he tripped and fell 25 feet through a skylight onto the concrete floor below. As a result of this accident, Mr. Kalinowski suffered severe and permanent brain damage. At trial, Ken, Fred, and Todd argued that the defendants (the landlord and tenant) were negligent because they were aware the skylights were dangerous and did nothing to remedy the situation. Furthermore, counsel argued that screens, which now cover the 8 skylights on the auto body roof, could have easily been installed and prevented the injuries to Mr. Kalinowski.

For more on this verdict, please read this article from the Legal Intelligencer.

 

With approximately 40 years of legal experience and recoveries totaling over $500 million, Fredric S. Eisenberg is an instrumental part of Eisenberg Winkler Jeck Schwartz Schoenhaus & Sherry. In a recent 12-month period alone, Fred obtained two settlements totaling over $100 million, including what is believed to be one of the largest settlements of its kind in the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. His extensive experience and insight into personal injury law make him a trusted advocate to whom other lawyers routinely refer their more complicated cases. Fred’s practice focuses on complex, catastrophic cases on behalf of severely injured plaintiffs. Over the years, he has successfully handled cases involving product liability and automobile defects, medical malpractice, construction site and workplace accidents, and commercial vehicle/trucking accident cases.