$539,000 Jury Verdict for Negligent Delivery of Scissor Lift Machine

• Date: Spring 2006
• Attorney: Kenneth Elwood
• Settlement: $539,000
• Practice Areas: Premises Liability, Unsafe Workplace, Negligence

On June 8, 2006, Blume Donnelly partner Kenneth Elwood obtained an Essex County jury verdict of $539,000 in favor of a 30-year-old man who suffered a crush injury to his right foot while working at a warehouse in Newark, New Jersey.

The verdict was entered against DNI Rentals, based upon their failure to make proper delivery of a scissor lift which had been rented by co-defendant Luso Air. As a result of the improper delivery, our client and various employees of Luso, were caused to attempt to drive the lift up a narrow wooden ramp onto a loading dock. In the process, the lift slipped backwards and fell onto the man’s right foot.

The injury required several surgeries resulting in a mid-foot arthrodesis (fusion) of three of the metatarsals. The man was out of work for approximately one and a half years, walks with a slight limp and has marked limitation in his activities.