Warehouse Worker Loses Leg in Forklift Crush; Jury Awards $17.5 Million Against Hyster-Yale
After trial: The jury put fault at 50 percent each, so the $17.5 million verdict nets to $8.75 million, the figure ranked; the September 2023 judgment of more than $10.5 million adds interest. Hyster-Yale appealed, and the parties settled in March 2024 on terms that are not public.
Won by Cowen Rodriguez Peacock.
A Hidalgo County jury awarded $17.5 million to a warehouse forklift operator whose left leg was amputated below the knee after a Yale lift truck with no occupant restraint system pinned him against a column; the court entered final judgment of $10.5 million after apportionment and prejudgment interest.
What happened
Christopher Zieske was working as a forklift operator at a Texas warehouse in 2017 when a Yale lift truck manufactured by Hyster-Yale Group trapped his left leg between the machine and a warehouse column. With no seatbelt, harness, or lower-extremity enclosure on the forklift, Zieske had no protection against the crush. Surgeons amputated his leg below the knee.
Zieske filed suit in Hidalgo County, Case No. C-2586-19-H, arguing that Hyster-Yale had designed and sold a machine it knew lacked adequate occupant restraint. The trial, presided over by Judge Letty Lopez of the 389th District Court, began August 30, 2023.
Attorneys Michael Cowen and Malorie Peacock of Cowen Rodriguez Peacock represented Zieske at trial. Their central argument was direct: 'Had the forklift been outfitted with a seatbelt or harness to restrain Zieske and keep him inside the compartment, he would not have had his leg amputated below the knee.' The team presented evidence that Hyster-Yale was aware of the missing restraint system when it sold the equipment.
The jury returned its verdict on September 12, 2023, awarding $9 million for past damages and $8.5 million for future damages, totaling $17.5 million. Jurors assigned fault equally between Zieske and Hyster-Yale, a 50/50 apportionment that cut the damages award in half.
Judge Lopez entered final judgment on September 29, 2023. After applying the 50 percent reduction and adding $1.8 million in prejudgment interest, the court's total judgment came to approximately $10.5 million against Hyster-Yale Group.
Sources
This account is drawn from contemporaneous public reporting and the court record.
- 1.The Texas Lawbook: Litigation Roundup: Katten to defend $170M healthcare fraud case; fatal crash draws $100M suit (Oct. 9, 2023)·Archived copy
- 2.Forkliftaction News: 'Hyster-Yale Ordered to Pay USD 10.5 Million Over Forklift Accident'·Archived copy
- 3.Hyster-Yale Group, Inc. v. Zieske, No. 13-23-00584-CV (Tex. App. Corpus Christi-Edinburg 2024), dismissal after settlement (CourtListener)
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