A maintenance contractor was negligent in a blast last week at a North Carolina ConAgra Foods plant, according to a lawsuit filed by two injured workers. The lawsuit names Southern Industrial Constructors which had been contracted to perform work in an area of the plant where the explosion is believed to have originated. The blast killed three workers and injured dozens more.
A South Carolina jury has awarded $9 million to the mother of a 21-year-old man who died after being electrocuted by a downed power line in his driveway. According to the lawsuit, Progress Energy was negligent because it failed to respond to numerous warnings regarding hazardous conditions around the power line in the months prior to the incident. The award includes $3.5 million in actual damages and $5.5 million in punitive damages.
The New York Workers’ Compensation Board has ordered insurer Zurich North America to pay an ailing worker who was employed at Ground Zero following Sept. 11. Daniel Arrigo developed a severe lung disease after being exposed to toxic dust and vapors he inhaled at Ground Zero, the New York Daily News reports. This was the third time the state workers’ compensation board ruled in favor of Arrigo in his fight to win payment from his employer’s insurer.
The Supreme Court on Monday threw out a $5 million jury award to a CSX railroad worker who was allegedly exposed to asbestos. In a 7-2 decision, the court held that the trial judged erred in delivering jury instructions regarding potential fear-of-cancer damages. CSX argued that jury instructions were biased toward the plaintiff’s position.
Texas lawmakers on Wednesday tentatively passed a bill that would ease restrictions on injured workers who seek to recover damages from property owners. Under the legislation, worksite owners who purchase workers’ compensation insurance for contract workers would no longer be immune from lawsuit. The bill awaits a second vote in the Texas House before it can proceed to the state senate.
A Seattle-area construction company has agreed to pay an undisclosed sum to settle a lawsuit by the family of cyclist crushed by a dump truck in 2007. Bryce Lewis died after a Nelson & Sons dump truck turned suddenly while he and another cyclist were riding in a bike lane near the University of Washington. The firm representing the family settled another bicycle-related lawsuit earlier this month for $3.5 million.
A Pennsylvania Air National Guard reservist has filed a lawsuit accusing his former employer of firing him for taking time off for an injury suffered while he was on active duty. According to the lawsuit, UPMC Health Benefits Inc. violated the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-Employment Rights Act when it terminated Thomas Smith after he returned to work following rotator cuff surgery. The lawsuit seeks reinstatement of Smith to his old position, compensatory and punitive damages.
Two city of Louisville employees have filed a lawsuit accusing a local building owner of negligence in a stairwell collapse that trapped the two last month. According to the lawsuit, Paul Bariteau, his wife and Forte Development Inc. should have known that the century-old building was unsafe. The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages and a jury trial.
A Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum worker has filed a federal workplace safety complaint accusing the museum of knowingly exposing him to asbestos. According to the worker, the Smithsonian mishandled asbestos contained in spackling causing him to develop asbestosis. For its part, the museum maintains that it took sufficient steps to protect workers from asbestos-related hazards.
The family of a civilian contractor killed in Iraq has filed a lawsuit against Halliburton Co. and KBR Inc. alleging that the companies were negligent in the man’s death. According to the lawsuit, errors by the military contractors led U.S. troops to open fire on the man’s truck after they wrongly concluded that he was part of an insurgent attack. Damages sought by the lawsuit have not been made public.
