A $6.6 million settlement for injured construction worker fuels demand for workplace safety

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A major legal settlement for a seriously injured construction worker is prompting his family and workers’ rights advocates to raise awareness about workplace safety.

Due to legal restrictions, attorneys are calling their client Mr. Chen and say they cannot share specific details about Chen’s employer or where he was injured.

Lawyers say that on February 1, 2019, Chen was working on a roof at a commercial construction site and fell about 10 feet. He landed on his back and was paralyzed from the waist down – an injury they say could have been prevented if there had been adequate supervision and safety enforcement.

“There was unfortunately a lack of safe protocols and policies, there was a lack of safety training, and unfortunately there was also a lack of safety equipment,” said Jeremy O’Steen of law firm Miyashita & O’Steen. .

They say an unsafe workplace led to their client’s catastrophic injury.

The case was settled for $6.6 million after more than four years of litigation, and now the family is working with workers’ rights advocates so that other families don’t have to suffer as they did.

Through surgery and rehabilitation, Chen can now walk short distances, but he remains confined to a wheelchair and dependent on his wife, who quit her job to care for him, and their two adult children.

While the $6.6 million settlement provides some justice and closure, Chen’s daughter Kara says it doesn’t make up for the years of pain and suffering.

“I don’t want other families to have to go through the physical pain and emotional struggle that our family faces every day,” she said through an interpreter. “I hope that the tragedy that has befallen our family can play a greater role in raising awareness of the importance of safety and enforcement in the workplace.”

“Employers have a legal and moral responsibility to look after their employees. When employers don’t take responsibility for their employees, you have advocates like us, and we will hold them accountable,” O’Steen said.

But finding a lawyer is difficult, especially for immigrants like Chen, who have limited English language skills and don’t understand their rights under U.S. law.

Many ultimately avoid expensive lawsuits.

“It just seems like they’re at a disadvantage,” O’Steen said. “They are forced into this process, where they are dragged through statements and actual interrogations by often someone on the other side who does not believe them, and that is difficult. That’s stressful. It causes fear.”

That’s why the law firm is working with the Hawaii Workers Center to crack down on employers who flout the law.

“If they do not continue in any way to compensate or improve the work conditions, workplace situations, then yes, we will continue with the lawsuit,” said the Rev. Sam Domingo, board chairman of the Hawaii Workers Center.

To help workers injured on the job and prevent workplace injuries, Miyashita & O’Steen is donating $50,000 to the Hawaii Workers Center for training and legal resources.

Visit hawaiiworkerscenter.org or contact [email protected] for more information. The nonprofit is located at 1545 Linapuni St., Kuhio Park Towers, Tower B, Unit 112 in Kalihi.