Court upholds $18M in punitive damages against company; worker paralyzed
June 4, 2011 by Fred HosierPosted in: cost of safety, Electrical safety, Falls, Injuries, Lawsuits, new court decision, Special Report, What do you think?
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A state supreme court has weighed in on whether punitive damages awarded by a jury to a paralyzed worker were too large.
The $18 million in punitive damages make up almost half of the amount awarded to Andrew Blood, an electric company lineman.
Colorado’s Supreme Court ruled that the amount isn’t “grossly excessive.”
Blood worked for Xcel Energy, an electricity provider.
On June 29, 2004, Blood was working toward removing an electric pole. He was about 25 feet up the pole taking down wooden cross-arms when the pole broke six inches below the ground.
Blood’s fall fractured his spine and immediately paralyzed the worker, who was 24 at the time.
In 1960, Xcel entered a contract with Qwest to share Qwest’s telephone poles.
Blood sued Qwest, and a jury awarded him a total of $39.65 million. The $21.65 million for compensatory damages was broken out this way:
- $10 million for physical impairment and disfigurement
- $750,000 for loss of consortium
- $1 million in non-economic damages, and
- $9.9 million in economic damages.
The question of whether the punitive damages were warranted centered around Qwest’s failure to implement a pole inspection program.
The contract between Qwest and Xcel mentioned recommended inspections for their utility polls based on their age. A first inspection was to be conducted 24 years after a poll is installed, with additional inspections every 12 years after that.
The court said Qwest showed no evidence that it had ever inspected the pole Blood was on. It had been in service for 46 years.
Qwest said it relied on pre-climb inspections by linemen to detect internal rot.
In this case, Blood has visually inspected the pole and struck it several times with a heavy hammer to detect internal rot. He believed the pole was solid enough to climb, as did other experienced Xcel linemen on the scene.
But the rot that caused the pole to collapse happened underground.
Colorado’s highest court said the jury properly awarded the $18 million in punitive damages to Blood. It said Qwest failure to even start a pole inspection program for 46 years was “willful and wanton” and that the lack of the inspection program was “sufficiently reprehensible” to justify a punitive damage award.
What do you think about the court’s ruling? Should there be a maximum amount for punitive awards, and if so, how should that ceiling be determined? Let us know what you think in the Comments Box below.
(Qwest Services Corp. v. Blood, CO Supreme Court, No 09SC534, 5/23/2011) A PDF of the court’s opinion is available here.
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Tags: fall, fractured spine, inspection program, paralyzed worker, punitive damages, Qwest
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June 7th, 2011 at 8:38 am
I think they Quest should have had some type of inspection going on before any lineman was to climb. Therefore they could have determined the pole was safe or not safe to climb. Stop pointing fingers and pay the man who is paralyzed and no longer able to care for his family or himself at such a young age.
June 7th, 2011 at 8:50 am
Why stop at $40mil? Since the dollar amount seems to be more centered on punishment of the companie(s) than actual damages, then why not a billion? why not a trillion?
The real question should have been - “If a stringent pole inspection policy & procedure were, in fact, in place and being done, would it have provided detection for that underground rot? Or, could it have still gone undetected?”
June 7th, 2011 at 9:02 am
I’ll agree that the amount is excessive but I really can’t state an amount that would be acceptable.
Here, we have a man crippled while in the prime of his life because of a work related injury. I have climbed poles and there were times that the poles were rotten above the ground and could only be detected by pounding on the pole and listening for something less than a solid sound. However, this pole was rotted below the surface and that process would not have detected the problem. The employer should have had a procedure in place that used a bucket truck to lift the lineman or a means to secure the pole such as an auger boom or a pike pole.
June 9th, 2011 at 9:41 am
If it were you how much is your life and health worth to? You? Your family?
June 9th, 2011 at 10:55 am
To alecfinn:
No amount of money would make the injured worker whole again. No amount of money will make the injured worker or his family feel better. The money could make dealing with the injury and the effects of the injury. It should be sufficient in this case to provide the wages that the worker would have received for the rest of his working life, of course all of his medical, and any special needs that he will need because of this injury. This should be accomplished with less than $5 Million. Then add another 1-2 million for the pain & suffering, loss of affection, etc.
Life is full of surprises and disappointments. There are no guarantees and no promises of happiness. To many people are under the belief that they are only one industrial accident from being financially independent.
June 9th, 2011 at 4:47 pm
Not excessive. If the are not made to pay excessively then the company will calculate the risk/cost and do it again the problem, these are peoples lives.
The award doesn’t say life is not without risk. What it is saying is the company has a general duty to reasonably ensure the safety of their workers while their performing their job and to not put them in harms way unecessarily or for profit. They are no disposable people. When you treat them as if they are, there are consequences. This is the consequence.
June 9th, 2011 at 5:06 pm
Chuck C
Have you ever calculated the cost of a disability that restricts a person’s physical activities? I have lived it and for a man who was 24 at the time of the injury and is now about 30. If he lives another 30 years he will need medical support for all daily activities, possible surgeries, 24 hour health care, special equipment and medications, hospitalizations for infections (as the bedridden tend to get sicker than the active) the award of almost 40 million might last his life perhaps just barely. With a settlement like that there will be no government help. If he were married at that age “loss of affection” is a minimizing way to describe a breakup be it a marriage or a love affair.
A quick monthly breakdown of my Moms last few years and she only needed a Home aid and that was 2004. Then totaled to a year noted is my Mom had health insurance but Medicare paid most of the medical as she was 86 in 2004 she died at 87 in 2007
Rent $1,000.00
Food $500.00
Medications $1,000.00
Home Aid $5,200.00
Total $7,700.00
X 12 (for a year)
Year $92,400.00
This was without hospitalizations and my Mom had to pay her home health aid as she had too much $ for help from the Government. Nor did she need daily professional medical care or special medical equipment or care. The more severe the illness the more $ it costs to live with it. So this was a lesser costing illness than the gentleman in this article.
June 10th, 2011 at 8:58 am
alecfinn
Yes, I have done the calculations as well. Life is full of disappointments and pain. I’ve seen pain and suffering. I’ve known people who have lost limbs, suffered major injury, and major health issues. Some simply succumb to it and become engrossed in it and spend the remainder of their life with a miserable disposition (reminding themselves daily how miserable they are or how the world owes them something). While others with the same or even worse trauma pull themselves up by their bootstraps and do their best to make the best they can of the situation. Oh yes, their lives were never and will never be the same but they adapted, overcame their affliction, and proceeded on with their lives. I guess you could remain bitter and resentful the rest of your life or you could try to pull yourself together and make the best of a bad situation.
Throwing a large sum of money at the situation will not make the injured worker feel better. It will actually make them more bitter and less likely to improve.
June 10th, 2011 at 9:53 am
Whatever you figure for this man’s health and welfare for a current year, compound that for inflation for about 30 years and see what the number is 2041. At 2% the example of $92,400 grows to $164k and totals over $3.75 million. My guess is his medical costs will greatly increase these numbers.
June 10th, 2011 at 1:23 pm
Chuck
A question -Have you lived and supported someone you loved who was disabled and needed ongoing medical care?
I have and the costs are enormous, for my Mom and for my partner of 34 years both of who died.
My partner at one point had a medication that cost (and I am not exaggerating) $1,000.00 a pill. My Mom after surgery was in a hospital for 3 months and the basic hospital bill was $250,000.00 (I am still not exaggerating) not including the cost of her medications or of the surgery.
And a note that hospital was not in a urban area but a suburban area.
June 10th, 2011 at 2:04 pm
alecfinn
Been there, done that, and got the T-shirt. Pull yourself up by your boot straps
June 10th, 2011 at 3:13 pm
Was not looking for that type or Ummmm…….. Remark?.
Just to be clear I do not feel sorry for myself in spite of being disabled myself I still against Drs advice returned to work and took care of the business above, as there was no one else to help.
My comment is geared to the fact that many folk have not had these experiences. That was all the comment about awards for Medical Care for severely disabled folk bothered me as I am still paying some stuff of. (Got the T-shirt and matching shorts!!!!!) I also work in the field and am aware of just how expensive this stuff is and needlessly so.
September 16th, 2011 at 6:29 pm
After reading the comments above, I have to say,it is my opinion that this young man deserves every flipping dime of that money. Qwest showed a total disregard for safety by not implementing a safety program that would provide for inspection of the poles. When will companies learn that they need to take care of their workers and that we are not “throw away” commodities like an iron. It is a very sad thing to read how callous some of the comments are. Is this the direction our society is heading. Sad.