Army vet hurt in McCormick Place forklift accident awarded $15.2 million
Thomas Neuhengen, shown in 2012 at his home in Wisconsin, lost his heel and underwent seven surgeries after his left foot was crushed during the teardown of the 2012 International Manufacturing Technology Show at McCormick Place. (Michael Tercha / Chicago Tribune)
By Kim Janssen Chicago Tribune
He survived 2 Iraq tours only to be disabled in a forklift accident. Now a jury has awarded him $15.2M
A military veteran who served two tours in Iraq only to be seriously injured when he was hit by a forklift while working at McCormick Place was awarded $15.2 million Thursday night by a Cook County jury.
Thomas Neuhengen, 33, lost his heel and underwent seven surgeries after his left foot was crushed during the teardown of the 2012 International Manufacturing Technology Show.
Global Experience Specialists — the company that set up the show — failed to ensure the forklift driver who hit Neuhengen was trained and certified by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and failed to hire a spotter who could have prevented the accident, Neuhengen's lawyers alleged.
After 12 hours of deliberation over two days, the jury ordered GES to pay Neuhengen $12.2 million in compensatory damages and $3 million in punitive damages.
"I'm glad that the jury acted in a way such that this will never happen to anyone else," Neuhengen said in a statement released by his lawyer, Patrick A. Salvi II.
Neuhengen walks with a cane and is likely to lose his job as a staff sergeant with the Wisconsin National Guard within the next couple of months as a result of his injuries, Salvi said, adding that Neuhengen, of Cudahy, Wis., was subjected to "unbelievable pain and suffering." The damages compensate him for that and ensure that he can continue to get the medical care he needs, Salvi said.
Neuhengen had sought compensatory damages of $25 million, plus punitive damages of $25 million.
But lawyers for GES argued that Neuhengen was partly to blame for the accident. They suggested at the end of a two-week trial Wednesday that GES should pay $3.2 million or less.
GES attorney Dom Savaiano declined to comment Friday, referring questions to GES spokeswoman Detra Page, who released a statement describing GES as "a safety leader in our industry" and said the firm was "disappointed by the jury's decision."
"The incident involving Mr. Neuhengen was very unfortunate," Page said in the statement. "The safety of everyone on the show floor is of highest importance to GES, the venue, the unions and our clients."
Testimony during the trial detailed how doctors used leeches in a failed attempt to maintain blood flow to part of Neuhengen's injured foot in the aftermath of the accident, and later grafted thigh muscle onto his heel.
Neuhengen was working as a spare parts manager for Hemle Machine Co. LLC when he was struck by a 58,000-pound forklift driven by GES employee Frederick Neirinckx, who Neuhengen's lawyers said failed to keep a clear path of travel.
GES, which was cited by OSHA in 2013 and fined $91,000 in connection with the accident, had twice previously been cited for employing uncertified forklift drivers.
"The jury said loud and clear that they wanted this to never happen again," Salvi said.
The case highlighted work rule changes pushed through by the state at the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, better known as McPier, which runs McCormick Place. The rule changes allowed forklifts to be operated by two instead of three employees. But McPier was dismissed from the suit well before it came to trial.
Salvi said that though the law mandates only two employees, safety concerns should have compelled GES to employ three, given the large size of the forklift.
McPier spokeswoman Mary Kay Marquisos declined to comment Friday.
//////////////////---------------------///
OSHA has cited Global Experience Specialists with four violations -- including one willful -- after a worker was injured in a forklift incident at Chicago's McCormick Place Convention Center in September 2012. The Las Vegas-based trade show and exposition contractor faces proposed fines of $91,000. However, violators very rarely, if ever, pay such large fines. The fines are routinely reduced after the violator contests the fines.
An employee from another company working in the convention center severely injured his foot when he was struck by a Global Experience Specialist worker operating a powered industrial truck. After the incident, Global Experience Specialists failed to train or check the certification of the forklift operator.
Global Experience Specialists has been inspected 26 times by OSHA since 1993, resulting in the issuance of 74 citations.
Three serious violations were cited for exposing workers to fall hazards during rigging operations and struck by hazards by not ensuring sufficient safe clearance to operate a forklift in aisles, loading docks and through doorways. The employer failed to train forklift operators in site-specific hazards, such as pedestrian traffic areas.
One willful violation was cited for failing to ensure powered industrial truck operators are trained.
Global Experience Specialists has been inspected 26 times by OSHA since 1993, resulting in the issuance of 74 citations.