A former warehouse employee has won a $617,126 jury verdict after complaining that Caterpillar Logistics Services Inc. retaliated against him after he filed a workers’ compensation claim and again when he filed a harassment complaint with the human resources department.
In a lawsuit filed in Miami-Dade Circuit Court, Rudolf Amaya said he herniated a disc in his lower back and tore a knee meniscus and an elbow ligament while on the job at the Miami Lakes company in August 2008. He filed for workers’ comp and continued to work but was asked to sign papers saying he was responsible for his injuries, the suit said. He also was put on lighter duty sweeping “thick” and “potentially toxic” dust out of the warehouse. In October 2008 was diagnosed with allergic rhinitis, conjuntivitis and upper respiratory inflammation, leading to a second workers’ comp claim, the suit said. He was fired in November 2008.
