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A worker injured in a prank involving a cement mixer will see nearly a million dollars in settlement money.

“It was essentially just a general negligence case – failing to act as an ordinary person would under similar circumstances,” said Brett Votava of Votava, Nantz & Johnson of the $970,000 settlement.

Votava said the man was hurt while coming down from the top of the mixer after spraying it down to clean the equipment. However, a co-worker had apparently flipped the ladder up as a practical joke. The attorney said his client didn’t notice the repositioned ladder and tumbled several feet to ground where the unidentified 51-year-old suffered injuries to the shoulder, both knees and the lumbar spine.

Votava said that some of the damage did require surgery though he indicated that the defense contended there was degenerative component to the man’s injuries in addition to making a comparative fault argument that he should have looked below him while climbing down.

Votava said the matter went to mediation and that a number of parties were involved in the case.

“There was some dispute over who the employer of the co-employee was so we had some different entities going on there,” he said noting also that one of the defendants had been sold since the accident.

Votava said that he hopes the case says something about worker safety.

“The lesson is that practical jokes can cause a lot more harm than what you might think,” he said. “It might seem like a funny thing to do them at the time but they can result in significant injuries.”

The names of the parties involved were kept confidential. Some of the attorneys representing them were contacted but either did not return calls or declined comment on the matter.

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$970,000 settlement

Personal injury

Venue: Jackson County Circuit Court

Case Number/Date: Confidential

Injuries: Rotator cuff tear, right knee ACL/PCL tears; left knee meniscus tear; L4/5 disc herniation

Caption: Confidential v. Confidential

Plaintiffs’ Attorneys: Brett Votava and Rick Schleipman, Votava Nantz & Johnson, (Kansas City)

Defendants’ Attorneys: Confidential