Construction site accident leads to lawsuit against the Commonwealth

A Williamstown, N.J. man who was working for a contractor doing repair work on the South Street Bridge in Philadelphia is suing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for injuries he sustained after being struck with construction equipment.

Philadelphia attorney James M. Turner, of the firm Furia and Turner, filed the personal injury claim June 21 at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on behalf of Dominic Cerrone and his wife, Dawn Cerrone.

According to the civil suit, Dominic Cerrone was attending to his normal duties as a construction worker for Driscoll Construction Co. on June 22, 2009, when a bundle of rebar, which was under the control of L&R Construction Company, Inc., workers, suddenly became loose, slipping from a crane and striking the plaintiff, causing serious physical injuries.

At the time of the alleged incident, the two construction companies had been contracted to perform repairs to the South Street Bridge near Interstate 76 in Philadelphia.

As a result of the construction site accident, Cerrone sustained lacerations to his left hand, tendon injury that required surgery, other injuries to his ligaments, nerves and tissues, and suffered aches, pains, mental anguish and other problems the full extent of which may not yet be known, the lawsuit states.

The accident has caused Cerrone to experience a loss of earnings and has affected his daily duties, activities and occupation.

Cerrone accuses the defendant of negligence for failing to properly maintain the property in question, and for allowing a dangerous condition to exist that could harm those at or near the worksite, the suit states.

The complaint says that Cerrone has incurred, and may incur additional expenses related to the treatment of his injuries. Cerrone demands damages in a sum in excess of $50,000.

The lawsuit also contains a loss of consortium count on the part of Cerrone’s wife, Dawn, who claims she’s been deprived the companionship of her husband due to the incident. She also seeks damages in excess of $50,000.

The plaintiffs have demanded a jury trial.

The case number is 110601860.