PITTSBURGH – An Allegheny County couple allege that the husband-plaintiff suffered a myriad of serious injuries, when he fell through a floor opening and landed on a stack of drywall and a concrete floor.
Richard Pell and Phyllis Pell of Elizabeth filed suit in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas on Feb. 24 versus Rivera & Latinos, LLC, Omar Rivera (individually and doing business as “Rivera & Latinos, LLC” a.k.a. “Rivera & Latinos Drywall, LLC”) of Monaca, and Martin Silva Hurtado of Aliquippa.
“The defendant, Rivera & Latinos, LLC, was a sub-contractor to an entity known as JG Drywall, the employer of the husband-plaintiff Richard Pell. The above-named defendants were retained along with others to install drywall at a custom home located at 111 Knight Bridge Drive, Venetia, Washington County, Pennsylvania, 15367. Said custom home and project was being constructed by and/or developed by Benjamin Marcus Homes. Venue is proper against the defendants pursuant to Pennsylvania Rules of Civil Procedure 2179 and 2103 as all defendants are either located or do significant business in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania,” the suit says.
“On or about March 19, 2021, plaintiff Richard Pell was lawfully on the job site in the course and scope of his employment for JG Drywall, performing an inspection of the ongoing installation of the drywall. At some time prior to March 19, 2021, a hole was cut in the floor at the job site, which was used to deliver and stock drywall into the basement of the home for later installation and completion. The hole, which was on the first-floor walking surface, had previously been covered with plywood. It is believed and, therefore, averred that sometime prior to plaintiff Richard Pell’s arrival and commencement of the inspection that agents, servants, employees, and/or subcontractors of the defendants removed the plywood floor covering from the first-floor walking surface.”
The suit adds that the “removal of the plywood covering over the opening in the flooring created an uncovered, unmarked, un-barricaded open hole in the walking surface, which created an unreasonably dangerous condition at the job site and exposed persons, including the plaintiff, to an unreasonable risk of harm with a high probability of serious bodily injury or death.”
“None of the defendants provided notice of the hole, the removal of the plywood floor covering, and/or the existence of the aforementioned dangerous condition to plaintiff Richard Pell. There was no legitimate reason for the defendants to create the opening or remove the covering on the walking surface. During the course of plaintiff Richard Pell conducting his inspection process, plaintiff Richard Pell was caused to step through the floor opening, causing him to fall between 10 and 12 feet striking both the stacked drywall and the concrete floor in the basement of the job site,” the suit states.
“As a direct and proximate result of the fall, plaintiff Richard Pell experienced, by way of illustration and not limitation, a loss of consciousness, shoulder and chest pain, difficulty breathing, and thoracic back pain. Upon arrival of emergency personnel at the scene, plaintiff Richard Pell was found to have an obvious deformity to the mid-shaft of the left humerus, restricted motion of the cervical spine, and due to his injuries, was transported to a landing zone for life flight transport to Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh. Plaintiff Richard Pell was diagnosed as having a variety of bodily injuries including, but not limited to, injuries to both shoulders with lack of shoulder abduction or flexion, and weak internal and external rotation on the left with an axillary nerve neuropathy. In addition to the above-referenced injuries, plaintiff Richard Pell also suffered a right acromioclavicular joint separation.”
For counts of negligence and loss of consortium, the plaintiffs are seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional limits of the arbitration division of the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, plus costs, interests and expenses of suit.
The plaintiffs are represented by Michael J. Zagari and Allen P. Page IV of Zagari & Associates, in Pittsburgh.
The defendants have not yet obtained legal counsel.
Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas case GD-23-002453
From the Pennsylvania Record: Reach Courts Reporter Nicholas Malfitano at nick.malfitano@therecordinc.com