Worker Gets Benefits Despite Landing Higher-Paying Job

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Utah has decided that an employed amputee is still entitled to receive permanent disability benefits despite having landed a better-paying full-time position elsewhere. The case is Wasatch Elec. Dynalectric Co. v. Labor Comm’n, 2020 UT App 20.

On July 23, 2012, Wendell Benward was working for Wasatch Electric Dynalectic Company (Wasatch) as part of a team in charge of maintaining a set of electrical lines. The team was moving a pole when Benward saw that the grounded pole was too close to a live power line. He rushed over to help but tripped, twisting his ankle. As he regained footing, electricity jumped to his left arm, and the current passed through his body, exiting through his feet and causing significant injury. He was evacuated from the scene by helicopter and taken to a hospital where doctors determined that his injuries required the amputation of both of his feet. He also suffered second and third-degree burns over most of his upper body, hearing loss, sleep apnea, tinnitus, meniscus tears in both knees, and memory loss, among other injuries.