Worker Hurt by Electric Cable Is Awarded $840,000

A San Diego Superior Court jury has awarded more than $840,000 in damages to a construction worker injured two years ago in downtown San Diego when the jackhammer he was operating struck a 12,000-volt underground cable owned by SDG&E.;

Francisco Holguin, 38, a Tijuana resident, has been unable to work since the May 3, 1989, accident, which left him partly paralyzed, his attorney, Jeff Winter, said Wednesday. The accident knocked out power to parts of downtown San Diego for several hours, Winter said.

Holguin was employed by Cass Construction, a subcontractor working on a new sewer line for the Great American Plaza Building under construction at lower Broadway. Other Cass employees had ruptured a water line underneath India Street, between B and C streets, while working on the sewer line.

Winter said that Holguin was ordered to use a jackhammer to dig up the street so the water pipe could be repaired. The pipe was installed in 1926, and in 1939 San Diego Gas & Electric laid an “electrical package” next to the pipe, Winter said.

The package is a concrete box about 3 feet by 18 inches that has 18 holes through which individual power lines are routed. The voltage carried by each line varies from 4,000 volts to 12,000 volts. Only 10 of the 18 holes had electrical cables running through them, said Winter.

According to Winter, SDG&E; records showed that the cable Holguin hit was installed in 1986 to service a new downtown office building. However, the newly installed cable was pulled through a hole in the concrete box that put it dangerously close to the water line.

Winter said the SDG&E; crew that laid the cable could have used other holes in the box farther away from the water pipe. Instead, the electric cable was “pulled around the water line with zero clearance,” he said.

“The construction company knew that the electrical package was there. What they weren’t expecting was a 12,000-volt line that was practically laid on the water pipe,” Winter said.

Holguin had dug only a few inches when the iron jackhammer hit the electrical cable. The powerful shock hurled him backward and ignited the jackhammer, Winter said.

The resulting injuries left Holguin partly paralyzed on the left side and with carpal tunnel syndrome in his left hand, the attorney said. Holguin, who is married and has two teen-age daughters, could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Holguin sued SDG&E;, and the case went to trial two weeks ago. The jury deliberated less than a day before returning a verdict Monday. Jurors voted 11 to 1 to award Holguin $843,360, less 5% for his contributory negligence, in one lump sum as compensation for his injuries.

Winter at first asked $750,000 for his client, but SDG&E; offered only $75,000 to settle the case out of court. When trial began, the utility raised its settlement offer to $100,000, and Winter countered with an offer of $300,000.

However, both sides failed to reach a settlement, and the case went to trial.

SDG&E; in-house attorney Beth Eaglson declined to comment on the case except to confirm the final settlement.