The estate of an electrician who died after a forklift accident at a food manufacturing plant has won a USD5 million settlement in a wrongful death suit, the New Jersey Law Journal reports.

Joseph Roscitt, 46, died in June 2022, six months after the accident at the Chefler Foods manufacturing plant in Saddle Brook, New Jersey, the Bergen County Court heard.

A forklift driven by a Chefler Foods employ had reversed into a scissor lift Roscitt had been using to change light bulbs. 

The scissor lift was knocked over and Roscitt fell 30 feet (9 m), hitting his head on the concrete floor of the warehouse and sustaining extensive head injuries. 

The court heard Roscitt, who worked for Modern Electric Company, was admitted to a rehabilitation centre but had to be hospitalised several times for various medical episodes. 

He was non-verbal but would respond to voices and sounds and was able to smile and acknowledge people around him.

Roscitt’s estate, represented by Bruce Nagel  and Greg Kohn of Nagel Rice law firm, sued Chefler Foods, claiming it was negligent, careless and reckless in the operation of the forklift. 

The suit was settled for USD5 million in mediation with Maurice Gallipoli, a retired judge with Porzio, Bromberg and Newman.