BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., March 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The minor children of a man who was killed in a rock crushing machine were awarded $30 Million by a unanimous Los Angeles jury on March 19, 2018 (LASC Case Number 594187). Rolando Anaya, the 34-year-old father of three children, was crushed to death when he was working at an asphalt facility in Corona, California. Mr. Anaya's pant leg became inadvertently entangled in the conveyor belt of the crushing machine. The supplier of the $450,000 machine, General Equipment, failed to install an emergency stop cord for workers on the chassis of the conveyor, which was required by Cal-OSHA regulations. Had the cord been installed, the children's father would have been able to immediately pull the emergency stop cord and de-energize the machine. Instead, he was unable to free himself and was slowly drawn into the machine. General Equipment, a North Dakota manufacturing and distribution company, admitted that it could have installed an emergency stop cord for $2,000, but never offered or recommended the safety device and never checked California law to see if one was required. A company representative testified in deposition that an emergency stop cord "could have been a benefit," but the company's hired expert testified that the emergency stop cord would have made things more dangerous by giving workers a false sense of security.
The trial lasted 7 days. No one from the defendant, supplier's company took the witness stand at trial. The verdict was rendered in Los Angeles Superior Court, Department 74, before Judge Michelle Williams Court. The family was represented by Donald G. Liddy and David R. Shoop.
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SOURCE Shoop APLC
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