Terry & Thweatt attorneys Joe Terry and Lee Thweatt represented a pipefitter employed with Turnaround Welding Services, LLC who sustained a severely fractured right heel when he slipped on a piece of electrical conduit while descending a fixed ladder and fell approximately 20 feet to the ground below while working at the Hobbs Generating Station in Hobbs, New Mexico. The Hobbs Generating Station was owned by Lea Power Partners, LLC and was being constructed by Colorado Energy Management, LLC. The fixed ladder at issue was manufactured by AFCO Steel, LLC while L.P.R. Construction Co. installed the fixed ladder and MMR Constructors, Inc. installed electric conduit.

The lawsuit was filed in New Mexico Federal Court in Albuquerque. Terry & Thweatt hired safety experts who proved that the conduit on which our client slipped causing the fall was located too close to the fixed ladder and the handrails of the ladder were too large which failed to provide a power grip, both of which were in violation of applicable safety standards from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and American National Standards Institute. Also, the fixed ladder in question did not have a ladder cage which could have helped prevent the fall. Lastly, a cable tray box was designed in such a way that it touched the ladder’s side rail which prevented continuous hand contact with the side rail in violation of safety standards.

Because of his injuries, our client underwent multiple surgeries and was out of work for a year. After several mediations, the case settled during trial preparation for $468,500. Attorney fees and expenses totaled $227,321.68.

$468,500