PENNSYLVANIA RECORD

A professional carpet installer who needed medical treatment after his leg fell through a

floorboard at a housing development he was working on in the winter of 2011 will receive $3.5 million to compensate him for his injuries.

Bernhardt Wilson, of Long Pond, Pa., was awarded the multi-million-dollar verdict following a weeklong civil trial at Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court.

Court records show that Wilson and his wife, Patricia, filed suit in September 2011 against Jameson Road Associates and Scotchbrook Townhouses over allegations that the husband sustained serious injuries after a defective floor board at the townhouse development at which he was working on the 9200 block of Greg Street in Philadelphia gave way, causing Wilson’s leg to completely go through the floor.

Wilson was employed by Keystone Flooring Company at the time. The company, which is also known as Keystone Flooring Products, had earlier been dismissed from the litigation, the court record shows.

A May 22 order by Common Pleas Court Judge Annette M. Rizzo, who oversaw the case, shows that Keystone was dismissed with prejudice before the case went to a jury.

At the time of the incident, Wilson was a subcontractor working to remove and replace carpets in the recently vacated townhouse owned by Jamison Road Associates.

Following trial, Rizzo granted a motion by defendant Scotchbrook Townhomes to mold the verdict to $3.5 million.

The jury initially voted to award Wilson $8.4 million for his injuries. It also awarded $500,000 to Patricia Wilson for loss of consortium, records show.

The molded verdict followed a high-low agreement reached by the parties.

In his complaint, Bernhardt Wilson alleged that he sustained numerous cuts, lacerations and abrasions to his right leg, and claimed he had also incurred injuries to his back, including strain, herniated discs, and associated neurological damage in his lower back requiring surgery and other medical care.

Wilson asserted that his injuries would cause permanent damage and affect his ability to carry out any future manual labor.

The plaintiff also maintains he continues to suffer from pain, mental anguish and emotional distress arising from the workplace incident.

The plaintiffs were represented by lawyer Wayne A. Schaible, of the Philadelphia firm McCann, Schaible & Wall LLC.

Defendant Jameson Road Associates, which does business as Scotchbrook Townhouses, is located Northeast Philadelphia, while Jameson Road Associates LP, also known as Susan-Jameson Partnership, is based in Norristown, Montgomery County.

The defendants were presented by Philadelphia attorney Joseph F. Van Horn, Jr., of the firm Fallon Van Horn.