Workplace Safety Accident Results in 4.9M Verdict

 

A welder who was burned by hot metal and was returned to work by a company-approved doctor recovered $4.9 million. Ignacio Llamas was welding when hot metal dropped into his boot. He went to the emergency room and was prescribed antibiotics, but Llamas claimed the project safety manager told him not to fill it. The manager then took him to another doctor, appointed by a defendant, who returned him to work without restrictions or prescriptions. Llamas developed a severe infection. He blamed contractors Certified Safety Specialists, AltairStrickland, and several others for covering up the severity of his injuries so they could avoid reporting it to OSHA. The jury found the two contractors liable, as well as his employer who wasn't at trial. He was awarded $8.4 million, but it was reduced due to liability apportionment, a high-low agreement and a court reduction.