Ruiz v. Belk Masonry Co., Inc.

McGEE, Judge.

Defendants appeal from the award of workers’ compensation benefits to plaintiff Francisco Ruiz. Plaintiff sustained an injury while employed as a construction worker for defendant Belk Masonry Company, Inc. on 7 October 1997. Plaintiff fell approximately seventy feet from a forklift onto a concrete floor and sustained a traumatic brain injury, a kidney contusion, and several fractures. He was transported to Carolinas Medical Center and was hospitalized until 7 November 1997. Plaintiff was then transferred to the Charlotte Institute of Rehabilitation where he received physical,…