At the time of the accident, the plaintiff was digging a trench at the Renaissance House on Harlem Road in West Seneca. He had gotten off the trencher to take a depth measurement when his left leg was caught by the digging chain after the ground around the trench caved in. At the time of the accident, the guard over the digging chain was missing.

The Beltz firm argued that the manufacturer, J.I. Case, was aware of numerous prior accidents involving deaths and injuries from Case equipment not having proper safety protection, such as an Operator Presence System (OPS) or a “deadman’s switch” feature that cuts power when the operator leaves the seat; a depth-indicating device that would allow the operator to obtain a depth measurement without leaving the operator’s seat; and warnings about using the trencher without a guard.

It was determined during discovery that even though the manufacturer recommended the use of a guard when using the digging chain option, the trencher had been sold with a digging chain, but without its guard or any warnings about not leaving the digging chain running when exiting the operator's seat. It was determined during discovery that Case had installed depth indicating devices on other equipment models for years and that, even though the TF300 model was Case's number one selling model, it was the last model to receive an OPS.

Also contributing to the settlement were Monroe Tractor & Implement Co., Inc., which sold the trencher without the proper safety devices; Schaub Equipment Rental, Inc., which rented the trencher to the plaintiff's employer; and the insurance carrier for the project manager, Ciminelli Development Co. Inc., which was sued for unsafe working conditions.