LAWSUITS NEWS & LEGAL INFORMATION
Man Paralyzed In Workplace Accident Gets $25M
This is a settlement for the Personal Injury lawsuit.
Bexar County, TX: A 40-year old man paralyzed as a result of a violently jerking earth scraper has been awarded $25 million in settlement of his lawsuit against Caterpillar and Holt Texas Ltd.
In 2006, Alfonzo Lopez was operating a Caterpillar tractor-scraper when the machine began to jolt up and down. He sustained spinal fractures that left him paralyzed from the waist down. In his lawsuit Lopez claimed that the machine had a faulty transmission system and gear sensors, and that dozens of warranty claims had been filed with Caterpillar between 2002 and 2009 over similar problems, specifically, that the Caterpillar scrapers moved against operator commands or shifted on their own.
The suit claimed that Caterpillar was aware of the problem, but opted not to fix it because of the cost. He also sued Holt Texas Ltd, which had a mechanic at his job site, for negligent maintenance.
The jury found Caterpillar 90 percent negligent and Holt 10 percent negligent.
Published on Feb-24-10
In 2006, Alfonzo Lopez was operating a Caterpillar tractor-scraper when the machine began to jolt up and down. He sustained spinal fractures that left him paralyzed from the waist down. In his lawsuit Lopez claimed that the machine had a faulty transmission system and gear sensors, and that dozens of warranty claims had been filed with Caterpillar between 2002 and 2009 over similar problems, specifically, that the Caterpillar scrapers moved against operator commands or shifted on their own.
The suit claimed that Caterpillar was aware of the problem, but opted not to fix it because of the cost. He also sued Holt Texas Ltd, which had a mechanic at his job site, for negligent maintenance.
The jury found Caterpillar 90 percent negligent and Holt 10 percent negligent.
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