By Sara QuamThe city of Luverne has settled a civil lawsuit with Phillip Kramer, the victim of an electrical accident in December 2001.The settlement means that the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust is paying Kramer $270,000. The remaining settlement issues concern the claim by the workers compensation insurance company for excess coverage. That claim has been mitigated with an agreement to pay $250,000.The money doesn’t come directly from the city of Luverne because it pays to be a member of the trust.At the time of the accident, Kramer and two co-workers for Fulda Electric were working on the city of Luverne’s electrical upgrading project.He lost the lower part of his left arm, which is his dominant arm.In March 2004, the city settled with the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Division on citations.OSHA first cited Luverne for "willful" violations in the accident.The fines to the city were originally $56,000, but the city contested those fines, which were reduced to $16,000. The citation was also changed to "serious."One citation was for failing to properly de-energize, or turn off power. In this case the electrical equipment operated at 14,000 volts.The second citation said the city did not adequately test or otherwise determine the power source was turned off, even if it was believed to be off.
