Delaware Jury Finds Injured State Transportation Dept. Mechanic is Entitled to $11M from Mower Manufacturer

The case was tried before Judge Jeffrey J. Clark over five days beginning June 23, and it went to the jury at the end of the day June 27. Deliberations continued June 30, and the jury returned its verdict that afternoon.

A New Castle County, Delaware, jury has returned an $11 million verdict for a Delaware Department of Transportation mechanic injured on the job by an Alamo Industrial Inc. mower.

Attorneys for Carlos Pino Figueroa and his wife, Adamarys Pino, and Alamo both confirmed the parties reached a high-low agreement, the details of which are confidential, after the case went to the jury.

The case was tried before Delaware Superior Court Judge Jeffrey J. Clark over five days beginning June 23, and it went to the jury at the end of the day June 27. Deliberations continued June 30, and the jury returned its verdict that afternoon.

Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky partner David Kwass and associate Michael Zettlemoyer represented plaintiff Pino Figueroa, who was injured in 2021 while working as a heavy machinery mechanic for the Department of Transportation, and Pino. William Peltz and Emily Raisis of Kimmel, Carter, Roman, Peltz & O’Neill served as Delaware co-counsel, and the Department of Transportation and Delaware Attorney General’s Office were involved in the case.

Pino Figueroa sustained injuries to his upper body while working to repair a flail mower, made by Alamo, that was attached to the side of a tractor. The lawsuit was filed in 2023, alleging Alamo was negligent in designing and testing the mower for safety.

The jury found that both Alamo and Pino Figueroa were negligent, but that only Alamo’s negligence was directly linked to Pino Figueroa’s injuries. The verdict included $7 million in damages for Pino Figueroa and a $4 million loss of consortium award for Pino.

Attorneys for Pino Figueroa, who has been back at work with informal accommodations for about a year and a half, presented at trial about $1 million in damages for his past and future medical care and lost earning potential. Kwass said the size of the verdict awarded in Delaware, often regarded in personal injury circles as a challenging jurisdiction for plaintiffs, came as a surprise.

“It does seem to follow what we understand to be kind of a national trend: increasingly, juries are viewing some of the traditional defense arguments with more skepticism and are a little bit more willing to find responsibility on the part of companies,” Kwass said.

What also may have had an impact, Kwass said, was Alamo not producing evidence related to a safety-related design change that had previously been proposed but was never implemented.

Alamo was represented by Kevin Connors of Marshall Dennehey. Yvonne Saville of Weiss, Saville & Houser served as the mediator for the high-low agreement as well as a prior attempt at mediation.