A Texas man who suffered traumatic brain injury from an on-the-job fall won about $5.53 million dollars after suing his former employer, West Star Transportation, for negligence.
Charles Robison, 52, was standing on top of an overloaded flatbed truck when he fell approximately 15 feet to the concrete below. In addition to fractures to his face, skull, right clavicle, and right wrist, Robison’s head injury caused memory loss, problems with impulse control and anger management, as well as trouble processing thoughts.
Robison will require lifetime supervised care and has already accrued $378,700 in medical expenses. Attorneys for Robison and his wife estimated his future medical expenses and life care costs as $3.34 million.
During the trial several witnesses testified that a variety of safety devices could have made Robison’s job safer. Attorneys for West Star argued that the safety measures proposed were not feasible. However, the company’s safety representative admitted during his testimony that the company rarely took loads as great as the one Robison was working with when he fell and that they could have refused the order with no consequence.
The jury sided with Robison finding that West Star was negligent. A defense motion for judgment not withstanding verdict is pending.
Author Bio
Valerie Johnson
Founder
Valerie Johnson is a North Carolina personal injury and workers’ compensation attorney dedicated to helping injured and working people across the state. A board-certified specialist since 2000, she is the Immediate Past President of the North Carolina Advocates for Justice and author of North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Law: A Practical Guide to Success at Every Stage of a Claim.
