A jury in Baltimore County is ordering Keibler-Thompson Co. to pay a Maryland welder over $3 million for a crushed leg injury he sustained at work in 1999. James Morris, 58, was seriously injured on his first day working as a welder at the Beth Steel Sparrows Point plant. Morris had been hired by a general contractor to reline a blast furnace.
A Bethlehem Steel dump truck, involved in Keibler’s cleaning project, rolled down an incline, crushing Morris’s leg. The welder was hospitalized for 1 month. He has not been able to perform his job since then.
Morris’s personal injury lawyer described how the truck’s wheels did not have chocks to keep it from rolling back. While the Keibler-Thompson Co.’s attorney argued that the defendant was only liable for the routine cleaning project and that the contractor that hired both the cleaning company and Morris should be held liable for the catastrophic accident, the jury disagreed.
The Baltimore County jury awarded Morris over $2.2 million in economic damages and $952,000 in non-economic damages, which Maryland will cap at $560,000.
Bethlehem Steel was also a defendant in the personal injury lawsuit until it filed for bankruptcy.
Work-related accidents often result in catastrophic injuries, and many injured workers are unable to ever return to their jobs.
Although Maryland’s worker’s compensation law prevents injured workers and their families from suing an employer, there may be a third party that is also responsible for your injury accident.
Our Maryland and Washington D.C. catastrophic injury attorneys have helped many injured workers obtain recovery from liable third parties. Often, workers’ compensation will not be enough to cover all medical costs and economic losses. Filing a third-party lawsuit can help you recover additional compensation.
Welder whose leg was crushed at Beth Steel plant wins $3M, The Daily Record, April 29, 2008
Related Web Resources:
Maryland Workers’ Compensation Commission
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