John Cambra fell 25 feet while working at a new home under construction. (Credit: ThomasPhoto/Shutterstock.com)
A heating and air conditioning contractor who suffered a head injury in a fall at a construction site has agreed to settle his Essex County, N.J., suit, Cambra v. R. D. Ghigliotty Custom Builder, for $1.75 million, settling most recently with one defendant on Feb. 28.
John Cambra of Bayville, N.J., a self-employed heating and air conditioning contractor, was on a job site at a new home under construction in Bayville on May 15, 2017, when he fell 25 feet into an empty elevator shaft. Cambra was on the third floor of the home, discussing the project with general contractor Philip Ghigliotty of R.D. Ghigliotty Custom Builder, when he took a step backward and fell into the unprotected elevator shaft, according to counsel.
Cambra, then 51, sustained multiple fractures of his pelvis, hip, forearm and wrist. He also sustained a closed-head, concussive-type injury. He underwent multiple surgical procedures and required extensive physical therapy, claimed the suit, filed against R.D. Ghigliotty and the framing subcontractor, Express Construction 30 Corp. of Elizabeth, N.J.
Evidence revealed that Express Construction 30 was obligated by government regulations to install a safety guard around the elevator shaft, said Raymond Gill Jr. of Gill & Chamas in Woodbridge, N.J., who represented Cambra. That company's principal, Eduardo Ordonez Corte, testified that he instructed one of his employees to install a barrier made of lumber around the shaft but the worker failed to do so, according to Gill.
The parties agreed to a $1.75 million settlement in talks with Peter Doyne, a former Superior Court judge now with Ferro, Labella & Weiss in Hackensack, N.J. Express Construction 30 agreed on Feb. 28 to pay its $900,000 share of the settlement, and R.D. Ghiglotty agreed on Dec. 16, 2019, to pay $850,000.
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