The family of a second man killed in a construction accident on Highway 80 East near Montgomery, Ala., has filed a wrongful death lawsuit. The family of Lomax Phillips filed a lawsuit in January 2014, just a few days after the family of David Lee White filed a similar lawsuit. Accident Details
The family of an Alabama man who died in a bridge construction accident has filed a wrongful death lawsuit.
The two men were working at a new overpass crossing Interstate 85, when an aerial lift they were in malfunctioned and fell 90 feet, according to the Montgomery County Sherriff’s Department. According to local news reports, the two men were placing wood under a bracket on the side of the overpass when the lift detached from the bridge. The accident is still under investigation by OSHA. History of Violations Both men were employed by R.R. Dawson Bridge Company, the primary contractor of the multimillion-dollar Montgomery Outer Loop project. Reports indicate the company has had 96 OSHA violations since 1985, including 11 Alabama. The deaths of Phillips and White became the fifth deaths of employees working for the bridge company since 1985. Both White and Phillips were wearing harnesses while working in the aerial lift, but since the entire mechanism fell, they provided little protection. Lawsuit Claims According to court documents, the Phillips’ lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages in the name of Phillips’ wife, Lisa, and his children, Deborah, Lomax Jr., Deangela and Keira. The plaintiffs are seeking a jury trial, and lawyers say they simply want to secure the future of Phillps’ wife and children. Defendants in the lawsuit include Miller Formless Systems (the manufacturer of the equipment), as well as others that may be responsible for the maintenance, sale or inspection of the equipment. The suit also names also named Phillips’ supervisor, Samuel Poynter, as a defendant, according to a report from WSFA 12 News. When the negligence of another person is suspected as the cause or a contributing factor in an accident that causes injury or death, a wrongful death claim may be in order. Contact Dallas-Fort Worth lawyers at Frenkel & Frenkel to schedule a free initial consultation regarding an accident where injuries may have been caused or worsened by someone else’s negligence.
