Oregon's Largest 3rd Party Verdict

SWANSON, THOMAS & COON WINS OREGON'S

LARGEST EVER THIRD PARTY VERDICT!

On June 25, 1998 in Multnomah County Circuit Court, in the Fourth Judicial District of the State of Oregon, the jury in Woodbury v. CH2M Hill, Inc. returned the largest verdict ever in an action against a third party for injuries sustained on the job.

Here are the particulars as reported to Jury Verdicts Northwest:

County: Multnomah County Circuit Court, Portland, Oregon; Jury Trial
Case No.: 9706-04494
Plaintiff: E. Max Woodbury II
Defendant: CH2M Hill, Inc., a Florida corporation
Trial Date/Length: June 2-25, 1998

Plaintiff Attorneys:

Ray Thomas, Doug Swanson and Jim Coon
Swanson, Thomas & Coon
900 American Bank Building
621 S.W. Morrison St.
Portland OR 97205

Defendant Attorneys:

Ron Bailey, Robert Schnack,
Kathryn Fritz and Frank Hunsaker Bullivant,
Houser & Bailey
Suite 300
888 S.W. Fifth Ave.
Portland OR 97204

Jay O'Sullivan
Camp, vonKallenbach, O'Sullivan
Suite 3040
1201 Third Ave.
Seattle WA 98101

Insurance Company:
CH2M Hill self-insured up to $250,000, up to $1 million
Zurich Insurance, National Union Insurance, $10 million on top

Plaintiff Doctor:
Sally Niles, M.D., Rehabilitation Medicine Associates
Portland OR

Defendant Doctor:
None

Trial Judge:
Hon. Michael Marcus, Circuit Court Judge

Plaintiff:
Age 24 (date of injury), male, recent college graduate with
B.S. in geology working as a field technician for a temporary
employment service.

Facts of Accident:

A Portland, Oregon jury on June 25, 1998, awarded $11.5 million to a recent college graduate who became a C-6 quadriplegic after falling 11 feet to an underground walkway at a Superfund remediation site in Troutdale, Oregon. Max Woodbury was hired as a temporary service employee by a husband-and-wife excavation sub-contractor, and had no experience working at heights. Defendant CH2M Hill was prime contractor on the project. CH2M Hill is a 7,000 employee environmental consulting and engineering firm with a national consulting practice and numbers the United States government and many private firms among its clients. Mr. Woodbury's claims at trial were that CH2M had agreed to provide overall supervision and coordination of safety on the job site, yet its employees had little knowledge of the fall protection safety rules applicable to construction projects in Oregon. CH2M Hill provided no fall protection training and failed to require fall protection for Mr. Woodbury while he was assembling and disassembling a work platform above an underground corridor. Mr. Woodbury fell while removing a sheet of plywood from the platform during disassembly. CH2M contended at trial that Mr. Woodbury was responsible for his own safety, that he took an unnecessary risk in reaching for the plywood to remove it, and that he probably would not have worn fall protection had it been provided. The jury found CH2M Hill 100% negligent, with no comparative negligence attributed to Mr. Woodbury. The verdict is the largest compensatory damage award in an Oregon personal injury case.

Injuries: C-6 quadriplegia

Medical Expenses: $350,000

Lost Wages: $31,300

Days Work Lost: Ongoing

Days in Hospital: 3½ months

Plaintiff asked Jury for: $13.5 million

Defendant asked Jury for: $0

Demand: $6.5 million

Offer: $3 million or $2 million/$5 million (high-low)

Settlement Judge: Douglass Hamilton (mediator)
Recommended: $2.9 million

Gross Verdict: $11.5 million; 0% contributory; net $11.5 million

Current Status: On appeal; Set for oral argument