Attorney From Enfield Involved In Winning Record-Setting Civil Lawsuit

ENFIELD, CT — A record-setting personal injury judgment of $100 million awarded to a north-central Connecticut man paralyzed in a warehouse accident five years ago was successfully procured by a law firm with offices in both Enfield and Glastonbury, and co-owned by a former Enfield resident.

On Sept. 19, 2017, Juan "Mikey" Cruz, then 43, was working in a warehouse on Locust Street in Hartford, where he had toiled for 15 years. Suddenly his life changed forever, as a pallet containing more than 800 pounds of lighting equipment fell off a forklift operated by a temporary worker and landed on Cruz, crushing his abdomen and lower back and rendering him a paraplegic.

In March 2018, after a referral from his family attorney, Cruz retained The Connecticut Trial Firm, which filed a lawsuit against Signify North America Corp., formerly known as Philips Lighting North America Corp.; temporary staffing firm Spec Personnel; and the temporary forklift operator.

Ryan McKeen, a 1998 graduate of Enrico Fermi High School, is a partner in the law firm, along with Andrew Garza. The practice opened nine years ago in Glastonbury, and added a second office in the Smyth Farm Corners plaza on Hazard Ave. in Enfield in late 2021.

Except for Signify, the defendants settled with Cruz's attorneys for $8 million. Signify would not budge, making a single offer of $1.5 million, which McKeen said was "about 25 percent of what he needs for medical care."

Following a lengthy delay for various reasons, including the coronavirus pandemic, a 6-person jury convened in Hartford Superior Court in mid-September. Over the course of the next three weeks, jurors heard testimony from about 10 experts, more than 40 depositions were submitted, and a state-of-the-art animation recreating the accident was admitted into evidence, McKeen said.

On Oct. 5, after deliberating for less than a day, the jury returned a judgment against Signify of $90 million. Another $10 million judgment was rendered against the temporary worker, though it is doubtful Cruz will ever collect that.

The verdict is believed to be the largest award of its kind in state history, according to Garza.

"This verdict speaks to human dignity," McKeen told Patch. "He worked every day of his life since he was 14, but they fought him for five years and did what big companies do. Signify clearly did something wrong. They wanted to save five dollars and didn't wrap those lights to a pallet. They didn't value the dignity of a hard-working man."

Cruz's wife Emily became his caretaker following his paralysis, leading to an allegation by Signify which outraged McKeen and his colleagues.

"They had the audacity to tell the jury that he could go back to work and didn't need a home health aide because his wife was providing it for free," McKeen said.