Louisiana resident Von Phathong was awarded $4.1 million by a federal jury on Wednesday. Once a worker at a Rifle-area Encana gas drilling rig, Phathong was given the money for injuries inflicted on him in 2005.
The award came as a result of a case against a Texas based Encana subcontractor, Tesco Corp., responsible for the rig during that time.
Tesco Corp. designs and sells drilling equipment, but also owns operating drilling rigs.
42-year-old Phathong worked for Tesco for many years and was working on a drilling rig in 2005 when an incorrectly placed drilling pipe came undone and crushed him against a drill. Phathong suffered numerous fractures to the spine and several other injuries and is currently unemployed due to his inability to move.
It was reported that the rig workers used the wrong size equipment to drill that day, as two different sized pipes were placed together. The case shows that those responsible for the rig crews "knew or should have known" that the equipment was being connected in the wrong way.
Although somewhat responsible for the accident, Encana Oil and Gas (USA) will not have to contribute financially to the award because a case was not placed against them.
According to Phathong's attorney, Michael Burg, Tesco will respond with an appeal to the verdict.
"It's pretty unbelievable that they would do that," Burg said during a telephone interview. "This is one of the problems right now going on in America, that the giant corporations don't want to be accountable for their actions."
Despite Tesco's potential appeal, the company is still being held responsible for the accident.
