$58 Million Verdict for Construction Worker Burned Over 75% of His Body in Caterpillar Scraper Fire

On September 10, 1998, Joseph Bryant Griggs was operating a Caterpillar scraper at a job site in Valley Springs, California when the machine caught fire. An O-ring on the hydraulic system had failed less than an hour after the scraper was repaired, releasing a spray of flammable hydraulic fluid that ignited on contact with the engine. Griggs was trapped briefly in the cab before escaping the burning machine.

The injuries he sustained were catastrophic. Third-degree burns covered more than 75 percent of his body. Over the years following the accident, Griggs underwent more than 25 surgical procedures and became permanently unable to return to work. Past medical expenses alone exceeded $3.5 million, with several additional years of reconstructive surgery still projected ahead of him at the time of trial.

The lawsuit named West-Pac Industries of Huntington Beach and Tools Exchange of Los Angeles as defendants, as the parties responsible for repairing and maintaining the scraper. Brian J. Panish and Christine D. Spagnoli of Greene, Broillet, Panish and Wheeler tried the case before Judge Victor Person in Los Angeles Superior Court (case no. BC 216425). The defense argued that Griggs caused the fire by smoking a cigarette. Panish and Spagnoli showed the jury physical evidence and expert analysis establishing that the defective O-ring seal, not smoking, was the ignition source: the seal failed and allowed hydraulic fluid to reach the hot engine.

Jury deliberations lasted three and a half days. The trial itself began February 2, 2004, and the verdict came back on March 23, 2004. The jury awarded $10 million in economic damages covering past and projected future medical costs and lost wages, and $48 million in non-economic damages for pain and suffering. The total verdict of $58,137,361 was at that time the largest single-plaintiff personal-injury verdict ever returned in California.