TRENTON — The state Appellate Court upheld a $2.8 million award to a contractor who suffered injuries while working on the Meadowlands Racetrack roof last year, documents state.

The plaintiff, Washington Munoz, 44, an employee of Cooper Plastering at the time of his injury, was working on the roof of the Meadowlands Racetrack in 2017 when he stepped on a drainage hole that had been obscured by a rubber mat placed down by contractor Paino Roofing, according to the court's ruling.

Gerald Clark, attorney to the plaintiff, said he's honored to have won justice for an "honest, hardworking man who was needlessly injured because those in charge disregarded basic workplace rules."

Munoz carried two buckets of plaster and a tool belt as he walked on the rubber film, which obscured holes for drainage, according to the lawsuit. He stepped on one of the drainage holes, which punctured the rubber and caused him to lose balance. As a result, the buckets and tools slipped off his shoulder and twisted his body, injuring his shoulder and back, court papers state.

In a 2017 jury trial in Superior Court, he successfully sued Paino Roofing, which had laid the rubber mat, and Ciminelli construction, the company acting as construction manager on the project. Cooper Plastering and the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority were defendants in the suit, but neither entity is financially liable for the award, Clark stated.

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Ciminelli is liable for 70 percent of the award, while 30 percent falls on Paino Roofing, according to Clark.

Ciminelli dismissed Munoz from the job for failing to report his injury in a timely manner, Clark confirmed. However, Munoz had argued in trial court that he could not make an official record of the incident until the next day because there was no one onsite from Ciminelli to report to at the time.

His orthopedic surgeon testified Munoz suffered a torn rotator cuff, ruptured disks and other injuries as a result of the slip. This, Munoz argued, meant he could not return to contracting work, nor could he return to his previous work as a truck driver due to unrelated anxiety issues.

In part, the ruling determined that although Munoz was negligent by not looking forward as he walked, nor inspecting the roof himself before beginning work, his injury was ultimately caused by the defendants' negligence.

A workplace safety expert had testified that Occupational Safety and Health Administration guidelines required the roofing company to mark the location of the holes and ensure the rubber could withstand Munoz's weight. Likewise, it was Ciminelli's responsibility to ensure such measures were taken.

The appellate ruling quotes the expert, who said the drainage hole had effectively become a "booby trap."

The trial court awarded Munoz $2.8 million in compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages, medical bills and future lost wages and medical expenses. The defendants appealed the decision arguing, among other things, that Munoz could not have been both negligent, as the jury had found, but ultimately not at fault.

The appellate court upheld the trial court's decision, stating that the seeming contradiction was possible because Munoz's inattention was not a "substantial factor" in his injury and that plaintiff would not have seen the hole "even if he had paid attention," because of the rubber mat, and lack of demarcations to highlight the hole.

"The facts demonstrated a reasonably prudent person acting without negligence would have stepped into the hole," the appellate court wrote.

Meanwhile, the appellate judges denied Munoz's counter appeal for further compensation due to punitive damages.