A jury has awarded $56.3 million to a Texas man who was paralyzed in an accident involving an earth-moving tractor manufactured by Caterpillar Inc.
Caterpillar Inc. must pay Alfonso Lopez $15.8 million in actual damages and $40.5 million in punitive damages. The jury ordered that an additional $2.1 million be paid by San Antonio’s Holt Cat, the company that leased the tractor. Holt Cat is the largest distributor of Caterpillar machines in the United States.
In August 2006, Lopez was operating a Caterpillar Wheel Tractor 623 G Scraper in a subdivision north of Dallas, Texas. According to court papers, the tractor “suddenly and without warning began dramatically bouncing up and down.”
Though Lopez was wearing a seatbelt, the violent shaking caused him to be thrashed about. Eventually the seat bottomed out, and Lopez was slammed into the tractor’s frame. As a result, Lopez suffered vertebrae fractures and paralysis below the waist.
Subsequent examination of the machine’s black box indicated that multiple mechanical malfunctions caused the accident.
The trial, which took place in a San Antonio state court, lasted for 12 days, with Lopez’s attorney asking the jury to award damages based on Caterpillar’s defective manufacturing, design and marketing of the machine. He also asked the jury to award damages from Holt Cat for its alleged negligent maintenance of the tractor.
The jury assessed Caterpillar’s responsibility at 90% and found Holt Cat to be 10% responsible.
To read more about this construction accident lawsuit, click here for the complete article.
If you or someone you love has been injured in a workplace accident caused by defective or malfunctioning machinery or equipment, contact the Texas personal injury lawyers of Fears | Nachawati today to receive free legal advice. Simply email us or phone us toll free at 1.866.322.6898.
