Philadelphia, Pennsylvania — A hefty $68.5 million jury verdict has been upheld in a wrongful death lawsuit spearheaded by the family of Siarhei Marhunou, a 38-year-old immigrant who tragically died after falling from a balcony while working on a renovation project in Philadelphia’s Central City. Marhunou, a recent immigrant from Belarus, was installing siding when the accident occurred in late 2021.
The lawsuit brought attention to common hazards in urban construction settings, spotlighting the responsibilities of contractors and property developers in ensuring worker safety. Marhunou, employed by DPSY LLC, lacked proper fall protection gear, a critical safety violation identified in the aftermath.
During the incident, no eyewitnesses were present to directly observe how Marhunou fell. However, surveillance footage captured the final moments of his fall, showing him making contact with a non-compliant wooden guardrail, which then collapsed. This guardrail failure contributed directly to Marhunou’s severe head and chest injuries, which proved fatal.
Marhunou’s family’s legal action named multiple defendants, including OCF Construction, Fitler Construction Group, and 2330 Sansom Street LLC—all associated with developer Ori Feibush. The lawsuit also implicated two subcontracting firms involved in the project. Before his death, Marhunou had been working without a fall protection harness, a fact that later led to safety citations for DPSY LLC from federal officials.
Throughout the trial, disputes arose concerning the responsibilities each party held in maintaining safety standards at the construction site. In the 2022 trial, a Philadelphia state court jury found OCF Construction, Fitler Construction Group, and 2230 Sansom Street LLC primarily at fault. These defendants were adjudicated as bearing significant responsibility for the unsafe working conditions that led to Marhunou’s death.
Despite appeals for a retrial, where OCF Construction argued against the size of the damages awarded and questioned the duty of care owed to Marhunou, the appeal was dismissed. Judge Angelo J. Foglietta affirmed that the evidence presented was ample to justify the jury’s conclusions, including the lack of a fall-arrest system that should have been provided by OCF.
Judge Foglietta also rejected arguments suggesting Marhunou might have been responsible for his own safety, confirming that no clear evidence indicated his negligence contributed to the fall. He cited the severe immediate pain and terror experienced by Marhunou during the fall and noted that the damages awarded accounted for the future lost parental support for Marhunou’s three-year-old son and the emotional loss suffered by his wife, Hanna Marhunou. She shared in court the poignant reality of explaining her husband’s absence to their son, telling him his father now “lives on a cloud but loves him very much.”
This case highlights the ongoing risks and legal implications surrounding safety standards in construction, especially in urban settings where smaller projects might not always receive the stringent oversight required for optimal worker safety.
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