Contract laborer injured while working in factory on top of a railroad car, says workers' comp exclusive remedy does not apply. $58M. Los Angeles County.

Facts and Background

• Facts and Background:

  Plaintiff slipped and fell on the top of a train car at the defendant Kinkisharyo’s Palmdale train yard where he was to perform electrical work.  He had been employed by Altech Services, an independent contractor that provides skilled labor to the railroad industry.  Plaintiff suffered a micro-fracture in his left foot. He went back to work the next day and worked full time for nearly a year-and-a-half. He visited a foot doctor for the first time two months after his fall. After having foot surgery, plaintiff was unable to return to work. Plaintiff was diagnosed by multiple doctors with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome following his foot surgery. CRPS is a debilitating pain disease.

• Plaintiff's Contentions:

  That the car was not cleaned and dried properly after the water test.  Further, that the factory was poorly lit.  That the foreman, employed by Kinkisharyo International LLC, was responsible for ensuring every employee’s safety, including overseeing the water test to make sure the train was cleaned and dried properly after the test. However, the foreman required a far too demanding pace of work, showing indifference to the safety of the workers and proper safety protocols. The foreman’s negligent attitude toward worker safety and an unreasonable timeline to complete the project led to plaintiff’s fall on the slippery rail car and life-changing injuries.

• Defendant's Contentions:

  Kinkisharyo disputed liability at every turn in this three-phase trial. In the first phase, the defense argued that plaintiff was its employee and that he could only recover for his injuries from the workers’ compensation system. 

  In the second phase, on liability and damages, Kinkisharyo disputed how the fall happened, disputed that plaintiff fractured his foot, disputed the CRPS diagnoses, and disputed the nature and extent of every category of plaintiff’s damages.