Welder Burned in Fire Awarded $1.6M
A welder who was badly burned on the job after three fire extinguishers all malfunctioned has been awarded $1.6 million by a jury after the U.S. District Court found the plaintiff to be 10 percent at fault, lowering the total verdict to $1,440,000.
In 2011, ReEnergy Sterling LLC ran a tire-burning plant in Sterling. ReEnergy, which has since closed the plant, burned tires to create energy that was turned into electricity.
ReEnergy also hired subcontractors to do work at the plant. One such subcontractor was New England Mechanical Overlay Inc. of New Hampshire, which was hired to perform welding services. Howard Roberts, 42, of Maine, was one of their employees.