$1.5 Million Verdict
A 51-year-old-man who was assigned to work at Mercantile Bank by his employer sued the bank supervisor after he was injured trying to lift a safe.
In 1993, Sylvester Murry was em-ployed by Clean Tech, who contracted with Mercantile Bank to provide cleaning services. Murry was under the direct supervision of Anthony Deanes, a bank supervisor. On Nov. 11, 1993, Deanes told Murry, who is mentally handicapped, to move a safe onto a dolly. Murry said that Deanes threatened to fire him if he did not move the safe.
Murry attempted to move the safe and felt a tingling sensation in his lower back. He did not tell anyone that he had injured his back for fear of losing his job. Eight days later, the pain became unbearable, and Murry finally told his employer that he had injured himself while trying to lift a safe. Murry was sent to the hospital and eventually referred to a neurosurgeon, who performed surgery in January 1994.
Six months after surgery, Murry returned to work for Clean Tech, but by May 1994 he had to leave his job after reinjuring his back lifting a trashcan. Because of his mental and physical limitations, Murry was unable to find other employment. Murry settled his workers' compensation claim against Clean Tech in December 1994.
Murry then filed suit against Mercantile and Deanes in 1998. The suit was dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and Murry appealed. The Eastern District Court of Appeals reversed the decision and remanded the case for trial.
At trial, Mercantile's successor in interest, U.S. Bancorp, denied that the incident occurred or that Murry was threatened with termination. It argued that Murry had not reported the incident in a timely manner or told anyone of the termination threats. U.S. Bancorp also said that Murry had not sought medical treatment between May 1994 and October 1996, and that there was no testimony to support Murry's claim that he was disabled from all types of employment.
The jury awarded Murry $1.5 million.
Type of Action: Negligence, co-employee liability
Type of Injuries: Herniated lumbar disc
Court/Case Number/Date: St. Louis City Circuit Court/982-00972/April 14, 2003
Caption: Murry v. U.S. Bancorp, et al.
Judge, Jury or ADR: Jury
Name of Judge: Michael Calvin
Special Damages: None
Verdict or Settlement: $1.5 million verdict
Allocation of Fault: N/A
Last Offer: $150,000
Last Demand: $750,000
Attorneys for Plaintiff: Stephen M. Glassman and Creighton J. Cohn, The Glassman Law Firm, St. Louis
Insurance Carrier: Amerisure and CNA
Plaintiff's Experts: Dr. Jerome Levy, St. Louis (surgeon)
Defendant's Experts: Dr. Faisal Albanna, St. Louis (neurosurgeon)
May 12, 2003
