Matthew Shaffer negotiated a $2.5 million settlement in just 60 days on behalf of the 4-year-old daughter of a crane operator killed in a dredging accident in December.
The worker was on a crane barge on the Christina River in Delaware on Dec. 2, 2014, when the barge capsized, throwing three crewmembers into the water. The 2 other workers were immediately rescued, but the single father from Newport News, Va., drowned when he was unable to escape the crane operating station.
Shaffer filed a claim under the Jones Act and the Death on the High Sease Act on behalf of the worker’s family against the employer, Norfolk Dredging.
“We moved quickly and successfully reached a settlement within 60 days of being retained by the worker’s family,” Shaffer said. “Cases like these usually takes 2 to 3 years to resolve, and sometimes even longer. However, I think the company recognized that there was indisputable negligence and there was also a clear appreciation for this young man. He was such a hard worker, and they knew him and knew the family and wanted to get it resolved as quickly as they could.”
The majority of the $2.5 million settlement will be placed in a trust to protect the financial security of the man’s daughter.
“It was an honor to represent this family and to make sure this little girl will be taken care of, that she’ll be housed, educated and supported for the rest of her life so that her father didn’t die in vain,” Shaffer said.
