Jonel Marina v. Benfield Electric Supply Corporation:
Plaintiff Jonel Marina, a truck driver, was making a delivery of electrical supplies to defendant Benfield’s warehouse. In order to extricate two pallets of electric wire from the back of Mr. Marina’a truck, a forklift operator employed by defendant asked him to stand on the forks of the forklift and use a hand jack to drag the pallets out. Mr. Marina complied with the forklift operator’s request and stood on the forks while at the same time using the jack to remove the pallets. The forklift operator unexpectedly moved the forks while Mr. Marina was standing on them causing him to fall to the ground and sustain a severe leg fracture that required surgery. Partner John Dalli sued Benfield alleging that its employee was negligent in the operation of the forklift and for asking Mr. Marina to perform such a a dangerous task. Mr. Dalli went to trial on the issue of liability. The jury returned a verdict finding Benfield negligent and 100% responsible for the injuries Mr. Marina sustained. After the liability verdict the case was settled for 1.7 Million Dollars.
