Type of action:  Construction negligence

Injuries alleged:  Exacerbation of grade II spondylolisthesis of L5 on S1; right chest wall nodule; chronic low back pain with radiation to right lower extremity.

Court: Suffolk Superior Court, Docket No: 95-1937

Tried before jury.

Judge: Bohn

Special damages: medical bills $11,619

Past lost earnings:$285,000.

Future lost earnings:$250,000.

Amount awarded: $1,400,000, plus interest at 37 percent for a total award of $1,918,000.

Date of Jury Verdict: 4/8/98

Demand: $320,000.

Highest offer: $15,000.

Most helpful experts: Barbara Shapiro, M.D., Boston, MA;  Herbert Volpe, Mendon, MA

Insurance carrier: Travelers Aetna

Other Useful Information

The MWRA retained Dick Corp. to act as the general contractor for certain construction activities at its Deer Island Construction Project location in Boston, Massachusetts. Dick, in turn, retained ICOS to act as a sub-contractor to construct a slurry wall on this project. On April 9, 1992, Cynthia Padgett, while working as a laborer for ICOS, was placing a concrete-lined, 10 ft long "trimmy" pipe weighing hundreds of pounds in a rack. While she was holding onto it, the crane operator who was lowering the pipe, jerked the crane's boom, causing the pipe to go out of control, and twisted Padgett's upper body like a corkscrew.

At the time of the accident, plaintiff was 31 years old, and was earning approximately $915 weekly as a construction laborer.

Plaintiff alleged that the defendant was negligent for failing to provide a safe workplace for plaintiff. The crane operator, a fellow ICOS employee, was inexperienced in the tremie pipe operation at the time of the accident, and was known to have had problems controlling pipes during the racking operation. It was his poor operation of the crane on April 9, 1992 which led to Ms. Padgett's incident and resulting injuries. Dick Corp. had a safety operator on the job whose sole function was to monitor safety in a 300 foot by 300 foot area, including the area where the crane was being operated. Plaintiff argued that the safety officer was inexperienced and failed to notice the crane's boom jerking on at least two occasions prior to plaintiff's accident, and failed to take adequate measures to prevent the accident. Plaintiff relied upon the contractual documents, construction rules and regulations, and the common law, to establish the general contractor's duty in these circumstances.