Gregory Beaver v. Cintas Steve Hughes J.D. Luhning

Facts: Plaintiff worked in a molten aluminum factory and was splashed with molten metal while working with an aluminum holding furnace. Plaintiff suffered major burn injuries to his arms, chest, neck, face and hands. Plaintiff sued Cintas, who provided a flame resistant work uniform to plaintiff and Leggett & Platt, the parent company of plaintiff's employer, alleging that defendants failed to select proper protective equipment for employees/plaintiff working at the molten metal facility. After a week long trial, the Monroe County jury returned a $750,000.00 verdict in favor of plaintiff, but only assessed 5% fault against Cintas, and 90% to the co-defendant Leggett & Platt. The resulting judgment against Cintas was significantly less than the last settlement offer rejected by plaintiff.