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Jury awards worker $32 million for injuries from accident December 10, 2005, 12:01 PM EST WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) _ A Waterbury jury has awarded $32.1 million to a Bristol construction worker paralyzed in an accident more than a decade ago. Norman Pelletier, 54, was permanently paralyzed below the chest when a steal beam at a Shelton construction site broke loose and hit him. Although he cannot move the lower part of his body, he can still feel pain from his injuries. Pelletier won the right to sue Sordoni Skanska Construction of New Jersey in a precedent-setting state Supreme Court case two years ago. The company had argued that, because Pelletier worked for a subcontractor, it could not be held responsible for his injuries. When the verdict was read Thursday, Pelletier kissed his wife, Reine, and knocked fists with his attorney. "We're very happy," said attorney William Clendenen. "These are two of the best people I've ever represented." Sordoni Skanska attorneys said they plan to appeal. If that appeal fails, Pelletier could receive an additional $8 million in interest because the company rejected his offer to settle the case for $6 million several years ago. The case, which was in court for 10 years, ended after five weeks of testimony in Waterbury Superior Court. "It's obviously very satisfying to Mr. Pelletier that the jury believed he was not responsible in any way for this," Clendenen said. About $28.3 million of the $32.1 million is for medical costs and other damages, such as pain and suffering. The rest is for Reine Pelletier's losses. When Pelletier was injured in June 1994, he worked for Berlin Steel Construction Co., a subcontractor for Sordoni Skanska on an expansion project at a Pitney Bowes facility in Shelton.
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