Saturday, October 04, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

Injured worker wins $16 million in damages

A man who was injured for life by machinery at a Mesquite manufacturing plant won a $16 million verdict Friday against the company that made the equipment.

A Clark County jury awarded the verdict to Richard Silva and his wife, Charlene, and against Racol Automation and Machinery Specialty.

"The little guy finally wins," Richard Silva said outside of court.

Silva's attorney, Bob Vannah, said his client was working at a company known as Primax in Mesquite in 1998 when he was pulled into a roller machine.

"It crushed his right arm," Vannah said. "He won't be able to work for the rest of his life."

Silva said Friday he has had multiple surgeries, and doctors had to insert plates into his neck to prevent paralysis.

During a two-week trial, Vannah argued that the company was negligent in putting a dangerous piece of equipment on the market. He said that there was no instruction manual for the roller, that it did not have a safety guard, and that there was no immediate shut-off.

The defense for the company disputed the allegations, saying the machine had been modified once it was put on the market.

The jury gave Silva and his wife some $16 million for past and future wage losses, medical expenses, pain and suffering, and total future damages.