Facts

On Jan. 17, 2005, Nornerto Garcia was killed at work when a portion of the infeed hood detached from the wood chipper Garcia was using at the time, striking him in the head.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS:
The deceased's wife and four minor children filed suit against Morbark, Inc., claiming defective design and manufacture of its wood chipper , John McNamee, the deceased's employer, for failure to carry worker's compensation insurance on the deceased (Labor Code sections 3706, 2750.5). Plaintiffs also sued Edwin Dissoway and Nancy Puzziferri for hiring an unlicensed contractor to do work at their home and for failure to carry worker's compensation insurance on the deceased (Labor Code sections 3706, 2750.5; Menzoza v. Broeder 12 Cal.App.4th72; 47 Cal.Rptr.3d 310 [Aug 2006]). Plaintiffs reside in Guatemala. the deceased was undocumented.

DEFENDANTS' CONTENTIONS:
Defendant Morbark contended that the cause of death was the modification and misuse of its wood chipper by defendant John McNamee. McNamee testified in his deposition that he did misuse the machine, the he knew his misuse was dangerous and that this was probably what caused the death.

Damages

The trial judge ruled that the family's lost earnings would be based on possible earnings in Guatemala.

Injuries

Death

Result

Parties settled for a total of $472,200. (Morbark Inc.: $85,000; Dissoway and Puzziferri $300,000 policy limits; McNamee $87,000, he is judgment proof and is paying balance due at rate of $400 a month until 2019).

Other Information

FILING DATE: April 19, 2006