Roof worker who fell through skylight settles claims for $8.5M

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A roofer who was severely injured after he stepped on fragile skylight glass and fell 25 feet has settled a claim against the building’s owner for $6 million and settled a worker’s compensation claim for $2.5 million, his attorneys report.

Jason Reynolds and Stephen Samuels of Samuels Reynolds Law Firm in Columbia and Bret Salley of Lexington report that their client, Jesse Monts, was sealing a leaky roof on a commercial building in Columbia in 2016 when he inadvertently stepped on a sky light. The skylight’s glass broke, and Monts plunged 25 feet onto a concrete floor below. He suffered a permanent brain injury resulting in partial paralysis and a severe loss of cognitive function, multiple rib fractures, a punctured left lung, a clavicle fracture, a liver laceration, deep vein thrombosis, and an acute kidney injury.

“It’s amazing that he’s alive,” Reynolds said.

Monts’s mother, Cheryl Ashley, sued the building’s owner, contending that it knew that the roof was in “rotten and deteriorating condition” and that the skylights had no guards around them. Reynolds said that the glass covering the skylights was 30 years old.

By the time the suit was filed, Monts had incurred $2.7 million in medical bills, and future medical care will cost up to $383,000 each year. Monts, who had been living in a government facility, now has his own apartment at a private facility but he requires 24-hour care, Reynolds said.

The building’s owner, Commercial Properties, settled the premises liability suit for $6 million on Feb 8. Monts’ employer, Brandon Clamp, doing business as Midland Carolina Door Sales, was uninsured, Reynolds said. Monts settled a claim with the South Carolina Uninsured Employers Fund for $2.5 million in October 2020.

The attorney for the Commercial Properties declined to comment on the settlement, and Reynolds requested that his name be withheld. Timothy Killen of Holder Padgett Littlejohn + Prickett in Mt. Pleasant and Michael Burkett of Willson, Jones, Carter & Baxley in Columbia represented the South Carolina Uninsured Employers Fund. They could not be reached for comment.

Follow Bill Cresenzo on Twitter at bcresenzosclw

SETTLEMENT REPORT – PREMISES LIABILITY

Amount: $6 million

Injuries alleged: Permanent brain injury, multiple rib fractures, punctured left lung, clavicle fracture, liver laceration, deep vein thrombosis and acute kidney injury,

Case name: Cheryl Ashley as the Natural Parent and Guardian of Jesse Monts v. Julian Wilson, Edward Larocque, Jamin McCallum, individually, and Commercial Properties of SC

Court: Richland County Circuit Court

Case No.: 2019-CP-40-06474

Date of settlement: Feb. 8 

Most helpful experts: Brian Durig of Summit Engineering in Columbia (engineering), Sarah Lustig of Mt. Pleasant (life care planning), and Oliver Wood of Columbia (economist)

Insurance carrier: Southern Trust

Attorneys for plaintiff: Jason Reynolds and Stephen Samuels of Samuels Reynolds Law Firm in Columbia and Bret Salley  of Lexington

Attorney for defendant: Withheld

SETTLEMENT REPORT – WORKERS’ COMPENSATION

Amount: $2.5 million

Injuries alleged: Permanent brain injury, multiple rib fractures, punctured left lung, clavicle fracture, liver laceration, deep vein thrombosis and acute kidney injury

Case name: Jesse Monts v. Brandon Clamp d/b/a Mid Carolina Door Sales and South Carolina Uninsured Employers Fund

Venue: South Carolina Workers’ Compensation Commission

Case number: 1623411

Date of settlement: October 2020

Attorneys for plaintiff: Jason Reynolds and Stephen Samuels of Samuels Reynolds Law Firm in Columbia and Bret Salley of Lexington

Attorneys for defendant: Timothy Killen of Holder Padgett Littlejohn + Prickett in Mt. Pleasant and Michael Burkett of Willson, Jones, Carter & Baxley in Columbia