Our client, a 29-year-old electrical apprentice, suffered a severe high-pressure paint injection injury to his left hand while working at a hotel construction site in West Des Moines, Iowa. He was moving tools to another room when he tripped over a pressurized paint sprayer hose that had been left on and unattended. The paint injection caused immediate and severe damage to his left hand, requiring emergency treatment and multiple surgeries including irrigation, debridement and ultimately amputation of his left index finger at the middle knuckle.
A workers' compensation case was initially denied by the employer, who disputed that the injury occurred at work and alleged drug test refusal, but Attorney Adrienne Sula resolved these contested issues at mediation, during which the case resulted in a total settlement of $325,000. The personal injury claim was settled for $260,000 and the workers' compensation claim was settled for $65,000, consisting of $64,900 for a compromise settlement and $100 for a global settlement.
