Former Xcel transmission lineman Andrew Blood, who was paralyzed after a fall from a rotting Qwest utility pole in 2004, has agreed to a settlement with the phone company, the parties said today.
Financial terms weren’t disclosed.
In 2007, a Denver jury awarded Blood and his wife nearly $40 million in compensatory and punitive damages.
The Colorado Supreme Court upheld the jury’s award last year. Qwest, acquired in April by Monroe, La.-based CenturyLink, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The company filed a motion to withdraw the petition after settling the case last week.
“The parties have settled their disputes to their mutual satisfaction,” CenturyLink spokesman Mark Molzen said in a statement today.
Blood’s attorney, Bill Keating, said the settlement includes a confidentiality agreement.
“All the issues in the case are resolved,” he said.
The accident occurred in June 2004 after Blood had been working on the 50-foot telephone pole in Adams County for about 45 minutes. The pole broke about 6 inches below the ground and Blood fell about 25 feet. The fall immediately paralyzed Blood, then 24, from the waist down.
Blood was attempting to remove the pole because of a right-of-way issue. He was assigned to the job because Xcel had electrical lines on it.
Andy Vuong : 303-954-1209 or avuong@denverpost.com
