Trial Magazine

Ironworkers Carl Perkins, 53, and Alex Sackey-El, 52, were part of a crew assisting with the removal and installation of a large glass window at a Houston Apple store. Perkins and Sackey-El prepared to guide the glass while standing in a scissor lift approximately 25 feet above the ground as a Maxim Crane Works, L.P., operator attempted to remove the panel.

While removing the glass load, which had become stuck, the crane operator lost control of the panel and allowed it to swing out, striking the scissor lift. As a result, the lift carrying the two men crashed to the ground. Perkins and Sackey-El each suffered severe lumbar and thoracic spinal cord fractures in the incident, and each required surgery. Additionally, Perkins and Sackey-El both have mobility and cognitive difficulties, including memory loss, and both have been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury. Their injuries require ongoing rehabilitation.

Perkins and Sackey-El claimed $100,000 and $307,000 in lost earnings, respectively.

Perkins, Sackey-El, and their spouses sued Maxim Crane Works, alleging, among other claims, failure to: control the glass load, safely perform the lift operation, and provide a competent crane operator who would follow industry regulations and Maxim Crane’s safety rules. Suit claimed that the glass sprang out in an uncontrolled manner because the operator was using the crane to pull on the glass load and positioned the crane’s boom tip incorrectly.

The defense argued that Seele, Inc., the plaintiffs’ employer, was responsible for the incident.

The jury awarded the plaintiffs more than $16.54 million, apportioning liability at 70 percent to Maxim Crane and 30 percent to Seele.

Citation: Perkins v. Maxim Crane Works, L.P., No. 2015-24741 (Tex. Dist. Ct. Harris Cnty. May 12, 2017).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Jim S. Hart, Eloy Gaitan, and Steven J. Kherkher, all of Houston.