San Francisco Jury Finds Hoist Maker 57% at Fault After Operator Loses Arm in 50-Foot Fall

On December 27, 2005, Robert Kammerer, a 39-year-old construction hoist operator, was working a job at the San Mateo Library. He was carrying a co-worker up to the roof when the hoist malfunctioned and began climbing out of control. Kammerer tried to get out onto the roof, lost his footing, and fell roughly 50 feet to the concrete below.

The injuries were severe. His right elbow was dislocated, and every artery and vein below it was torn through, along with the muscle attachments below the elbow, the brachial artery, and the median, ulnar and radial nerves. He also suffered open fractures of the right tibia and fibula and a head laceration. He was airlifted to Stanford Hospital, where surgeons amputated his dominant right arm above the elbow, and where the broken tibia and fibula were repaired with a rod the same day. He then spent 10 days in the acute rehabilitation unit at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Recovery brought further problems. Relying on his left hand to make up for the missing arm led to carpal tunnel syndrome, and he had a left hand release procedure in 2012. He was fitted with a bioelectric prosthetic arm, but said he used it little: it was heavy, and with his medications it made the stump sweat so much that the device became uncomfortable and slipped off. He lives alone in a condominium and does not need round-the-clock care, though his life care plan called for help with household chores and meals.

The case went to trial in San Francisco County Superior Court (case no. CGC-07-470119) against Alimak Hek AB, the Swedish manufacturer of the hoist, with claims of design defect, manufacturing defect and failure to warn. Richard Schoenberger, Michael Kelly and Andrew McDevitt of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger represented Kammerer. Alimak denied liability, blamed maintenance lapses by Kammerer's employer, Sheedy Inc., and was defended by Dryden, Margoles, Schimaneck & Wertz. Sheedy was not a defendant at trial because it was his employer. Judge James McBride presided.

On August 23, 2012, the jury found Alimak liable for the hoist's defective design and for failing to warn of the defect. It also assigned fault to others, so the verdict was not paid out in full. The jury put 57 percent of the fault on Alimak, 33 percent on Sheedy, and 10 percent on Kammerer, and it valued his damages at $8,328,591: $2,328,591 in economic damages and $6 million in non-economic damages.

Reports differ on what that meant for Alimak. The Recorder reported that Kammerer would recover $4,747,296.80, the share tied to Alimak's 57 percent of the whole award. Jury Verdict Alert itemized Alimak's share at $5,515,732, made up of $2,095,732 in economic damages and $3,420,000 in non-economic damages, with Sheedy's share treated as a credit against workers' compensation payments. We rank the result at the lower reported figure.