Facts

On Aug. 2, 2011, Edgar Gonzalez, a 30-year-old carpenter was fatally injured in a work site accident at the Los Angeles Hyperion Treatment Plant. The site was a sanitary water treatment plant owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles. He was working on top of a 30-feet concrete wall form panel when it collapsed. Atlas Construction Supply Inc. was the designer and supplier of the wall form system. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Plaintiffs were decedent's wife and children.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS:
Plaintiffs contended decedent was fatally injured while acting within the course and scope of his employment with USS Cal. Builders Inc. Plaintiffs claimed that Atlas Construction Supply committed negligence in provide design services and provided defective equipment and materials.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS:
Atlas contended that there were no deficiencies in either the wall form materials or the Atlas installation drawings and that the principal cause of the accident was the failure of Gonzalez' employer, general contractor, USS Cal Builders, to assemble and install the panels in conformance with the Atlas drawings. Atlas also contended that the crane operator was negligent in prematurely disconnecting the crane form the wall form panel.

Settlement Discussions

Atlas offered $200,000 at the mediation, $1 million before trial, $2 million during trial and $3 million before closing argument.

Result

Plaintiffs' verdict for $27 million in total damages. The jury found Atlas 55 percent negligent and USS Builders 45 percent negligent.

Other Information

FILING DATE: May 2, 2013.

Deliberation

one day

Poll

12-0

Length

13 days