Settlement

A 32-year-old unmarried maintenance worker was killed while performing maintenance on a food refrigeration machine, which contained anhydrous ammonia. During routine maintenance, he opened part of the machine, which sprayed ammonia in his face and lungs. Once inhaled, the ammonia burned his lungs and ultimately caused his death. We claimed the machine lacked proper warnings and that the operator’s manual was unclear in its instructions on how to maintain the machine. The defense argued that our client did not follow the instructions in the manual, that his employer did not train him, and that warnings would not have made a difference. This case settled one week into trial. It provides us great satisfaction to obtain compensation for the family of a hard-working maintenance man, who, despite taking the time to read the manual, was subjected to working on an unsafe product.