A man's suit brought over injuries he suffered in the collapse of scaffolding on the Sugar Fork Creek Bridge is over.
Madison County Circuit Judge William Mudge gave the final approval of the settlement reached by plaintiff Gene Birdsell with Keller Construction Inc. and ITW Red Head on May 31. The order also included the settlement of a third-party complaint brought against Elite Contracting Inc.
Mudge had previously entered an order enforcing the $450,000 settlement that excluded the execution of a clause related to Medicare liens that the plaintiff claimed the parties had not negotiated.
ITW paid $135,000 of the settlement while the other defendants in the suit paid the remainder.
Birdsell sued Keller, ITW, Dayton Superior Corporation, OK Fasteners Inc. and Elite Contracting for damages related to spinal injuries he claims to have suffered in the 2006 scaffolding collapse.
Dayton and OK Fasteners were dropped from his suit in 2009.
Although the parties had reached the settlement earlier this year, Birdsell asked for and won the enforcement order May 16 after ITW included a Medicare addendum that would have obligated the plaintiff to hold the settling defendants harmless if Medicare asserted liens in the future.
Birdsell argued that the Medicare stipulation wasn't part of the negotiated settlement.
Mudge went on to deny a plaintiff's request for attorney's fees May 25.
That order also reset the suit for a case management conference June 29.
Bruce Cook represents Birdsell.
John Cunningham represents Elite and Keller.
Patterson Gloor represents ITW.
The case is Madison case number 08-L-831.