Verified Matter
RPI Electrical Burn Injury $4.5 Million Jury Verdict and Appellate Affirmance
$4.5 million gross jury verdict; adjusted judgment affirmed on appeal, subject to 20% plaintiff comparative fault.
Jeffrey I. Carton served as trial counsel for electrician Jordan Neissel, who suffered severe electrical burns while working on switchgear at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The action alleged negligence and New York Labor Law violations. A jury awarded $4.5 million in gross damages, allocating fault 60% to RPI, 20% to High Voltage Electric Service, and 20% to Neissel. The trial court subsequently reduced future medical damages from $900,000 to $51,000. The Appellate Division affirmed the judgment and amended judgment on August 7, 2008; the Court of Appeals denied leave to appeal on January 22, 2009.
Result
- Outcome
- Verdict
- Value
- $4,500,000 — original gross jury award, before the subsequent medical-damages reduction and 20% comparative-fault adjustment.
- Short result
- $4.5 million gross jury verdict; adjusted judgment affirmed on appeal, subject to 20% plaintiff comparative fault.
- Remedy
- Compensatory Damages; Past and Future Pain and Suffering; Future Medical Expenses
- Year
- 2008
- Published
- 2026-09-17
Supporting sources
- Denlea & Carton — Jeffrey I. Carton biography: identifies his prosecution of the $4.5 million RPI verdict · Firm-confirmed information
- Times Union archived article · News / public announcement
- August 7, 2008 appellate decision — verdict, damages adjustments, counsel, and affirmance · Court filing
- January 22, 2009 Court of Appeals order — leave to appeal denied · Court filing
- June 22, 2006 appellate decision — claims, defendants, and supplemental bill-of-particulars ruling · Court filing
- October 31, 2008 appellate order — reargument and permission to appeal denied · Court filing
- OSHRC No. 04-1687 — related administrative decision describing the same accident; separate from the civil action · Regulatory record
- New York Labor Law · § 200 · Statute / rule
- New York Labor Law · § 241(6) · Statute / rule
- New York CPLR · 5501(c) · Statute / rule
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