PHILADELPHIA – A plaintiff allegedly injured by an explosion on the premises of a waste management company and his wife have filed a lawsuit against the company they feel are responsible for his injuries.
John Franco-Garcia and Noemi Benitez of Philadelphia filed suit in the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas on Sept. 26 versus Waste Management of Pennsylvania, Inc., of Morrisville.
On July 26 of this year, Franco-Garcia was lawfully on the defendant’s premises, in the course of his employment with Braz Lines, Inc. and locking the rear trailer door of his truck, when suddenly and without warning, an operating bulldozer caused an object to explode and strike Franco-Garcia, the suit says.
The suit says this accident was directly caused by the negligence of the defendant, due to allowing a dangerous condition that made the explosion possible, failure to have safe procedures in place to ensure objects would not explode, failure to have safe procedures in place for the use of machinery like bulldozers and failure to remedy defects which should have been made known to the defendants, among other reasons.
In the accident, Franco-Garcia allegedly suffered multiple fractures of the right arm requiring surgical repair, acute compartment syndrome requiring a fasciotomy, aches, pains, mental anxiety and anguish and severe nervous system shock, plus loss of use of bodily function and disfigurement.
Franco-Garcia’s husband, Benitez, also entered a count for loss of consortium, relating to her husband’s injuries suffered in the above accident.
For counts of negligence and loss of consortium, the plaintiff are each seeking damages in excess of $50,000.
The plaintiff is represented by Brandon A. Swartz, Bryan M. Ferris and Maria K. McGinty-Ferris of Swartz Culleton, in Newtown.
Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas case 170902981
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nickpennrecord@gmail.com