Salt Lake City, Utah August, 2002 - A settlement of over $400,000 was reached on behalf of a garbage collector who lost a portion of his leg in an accident involving a garbage truck. The garbage collector, despite having been warned against doing so in training videos, climbed onto the hopper of his truck to try to dislodge a tree limb that had become stuck in the machine. When the limb loosened, the driver slipped and fell into the hopper, which caused him to lose his leg below the knee. A lawsuit was filed against the manufacturer of the garbage truck alleging a negligent design for not having an automatic shut-off device.
The defense in the case was that the design of the truck was state-of-the art, that drivers had been warned never to enter the hoppers, and had also been told not to pick up over-sized items such as tree limbs that could cause a jam. The driver admitted that he had watched these training videos and was aware of the warnings. The case was originally handled by an attorney who requested the help of Eisenberg Gilchrist & Morton after he believed he would not be able to successfully fight the manufacturer and its extensive team of lawyers and experts.
Eisenberg Gilchrist & Morton's attorneys were able, through their investigation, to locate a similar incident that occurred in a different part of the country. In addition, they were able to show that the client, who spoke English as a second language, could easily become confused when placed in a stressful situation. Despite having entered this difficult case near its conclusion, a settlement was still reached for over $400,000. This sum will allow the injured client to lead a comfortable life and allow him to rise above the poverty level to which he had been reduced as a result of the accident.
"The monetary award, although important, was overshadowed by the look on the client's face after we reached this settlement after a day-long mediation," said attorney Jeffrey Eisenberg, who worked as lead attorney in this case. "The sincere thanks, tears, and smiles of the client after reaching this settlement were truly gratifying," he continued, "he had reached the point of despair and felt he would never have a successful life. Now, because of this settlement, he feels he has a chance for a future." Other attorney working on the case at Eisenberg Gilchrist & Morton was David Cutt.
