BOSTON -- A judge on Thursday ordered the state to pay a Gardner, Mass., prison guard who alleged that faulty equipment contributed to him being struck by lightning twice.

NewsCenter 5's Rhondella Richardson reported that Correctional officer Michael Barrette can't use his right arm, and now he's in a battle with the Department of Corrections for lost wages.

He alleged that lightning struck him twice while he was on the job at the North Central Correctional Institute.

In the first step in the ongoing legal battle, a judge ordered the Department of Corrections to pay worker's compensation to Barrette and to reimburse him for sick time he was forced to use to supplement his pay when short-term disability ended.

He's a father of two, and after almost losing his life, he said that he was terribly worried about losing his home and supporting his family.

The state continues to deny the second lightning strike ever happened. But this move by the judge forces the state to pay some disability benefits for that second strike.

The state is appealing and requesting that Barrette be examined by an impartial doctor chosen through the judge's office.