Worker permanently injured at Alabama plant awarded $774K

EVERGREEN, Ala. (AP) - A man permanently injured at an Alabama manufacturing plant in 2015 has been awarded $774,000.

Al.com reported Wednesday that a jury has decided Italian company Tenax SPA should pay punitive and compensatory damages to Tenax factory worker John Dees. Court documents say Dees’ left arm was pulled into a plastic netting machine manufactured by Tenax SPA and crushed, leaving it disfigured.

Dees worked at the factory through a third-party staffing company. He sued the machine manufacturer, alleging the machine had inadequate safety features. Defendants argued Dees didn’t use the machine correctly.

Dees’ lawsuit also involved a dispute over worker’s compensation owed by the staffing company and factory. The state Supreme Court ruled last year that the factory has immunity from the lawsuit. The staffing company lawsuit is ongoing.

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Information from: The Birmingham News, http://www.al.com/birminghamnews