In a forklift injury case, a New Jersey appellate panel has ruled in favour of two defendants - manufacturer Crown Equipment Corp and service provider Raymond of New Jersey LLC.

The seriously injured plaintiff, Czewlaw Ciapinski, was operating a Crown battery-powered side-stance forklift in a VersaCold warehouse in Secaucus, New Jersey on 21 October, 2004.

"When I was backing the hi/low toward the battery charger in the maintenance shop, I thought that machine will stop after I took my foot off the hi/low," Ciapinski explained to a VersaCold supervisor after the incident. "I had my foot outside, and I did not have enough time to move out from the machine that was still in motion." The supervisor, Krzysztof Chrostowski, talked with Ciapinski because both speak Polish.

Ciapinski's injuries required several surgeries on his left foot and leg, which eventually were amputated and fitted for prosthesis. He returned to work but ultimately left VersaCold in August 2006 because of problems with his leg.

Ciapinski and his wife, Halina, sued Crown and the Raymond dealership in 2006.

On the plaintiff's behalf, professional engineers Irving Ojalvo and Howard Sarrett evaluated potential liability claims arising out of the accident. The motion judge concluded that the plaintiffs and their experts had failed to demonstrate viable theories of causation against the Raymond dealership or Crown.

The law firm of Campbell, Campbell, Edwards & Conroy PC, which has eight offices in the north east US, represented Crown during the appellate process.

Crown's legal department issued a statement: "The trial judge, after a thorough review of the facts and the law of New Jersey, dismissed the plaintiffs' claims against Crown and the codefendant. A three-judge panel of appellate judges made an extensive analysis and agreed that, although an unfortunate workplace injury had occurred, Crown was not legally responsible for those injuries."

Further, the manufacturer "demonstrated that the evidence uncovered during the discovery process of the lawsuit did not support the plaintiffs' legal theories, and there was no need to go through the significant time and expense of a jury trial", according to Crown.

The Montvale, New Jersey-based law firm of Weiner, Carroll & Strauss represented Ciapinski but did not respond to a request for comment.

The appellate division in Trenton heard oral arguments in the case on 18 November 2009.