$850,000 Recovery for Foot Crush Injury

Our client worked for a manufacturer of steel products. As part of his job, he regularly used a vacuum lift machine. The vacuum lift had two large, suction-like pads, powered by an industrial vacuum. These suction pads lifted and moved heavy steel plates.Our client was operating the vacuum lift when he attempted to guide a steel plate, weighing thousands of pound, into position. One of the suction-like pads failed and the plate began to fall-off the vacuum lift, swinging up and down. As the plate swung, it struck our client’s foot and knocked him down.Our client suffered devastating crush injuries to his right foot and had to undergo multiple surgeries. His foot-crush injury, coupled with the surgeries and post surgical complications, left our client totally disabled and unable to work. Sadly, he died before trial of an unrelated cardiac issue. Seeking justice for the physical and economic injury our client suffered in the last few years of his life, his family pressed forward with this products liability claim.Peter Patton, a senior partner at Galfand Berger, initiated a thorough investigation of this matter. Peter concluded that the Defendant — in this case the manufacturer of the vacuum lift — designed and built an unsafe machine, with inadequate vacuum / suction pads. Moreover, Peter argued that Defendant failed to properly evaluate the foreseeable hazards that would arise from operating this machine. In short, Peter, through his no-stone-left-unturned approach, established that our client’s injuries were a direct result of Defendant’s poorly designed and manufactured machine.Not surprisingly, Defendant attempted to deny all liability; instead claiming the injury was the fault of our client!