Carpenter sues over contact with live wire during SIUE work

A man has filed suit against the general contractor that he claims hired his business to perform carpentry work when he came into contact with a live electrical wire, causing him to fall from scaffolding onto the ground.

Harold Brent Schott claims he was working as a carpenter for Hoelscher Interiors on July 27, 2012, at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. General contractor defendant Williams Brothers had instructed him to build a soffit, so Schott began to work on a scaffold, according to the complaint filed Aug. 26 in Madison County Circuit Court.

“While performing the work, a live wire made contact with plaintiff’s left arm blowing him off the scaffold and onto the ground,” the suit states.

Because of his fall, Schott suffered severe injury and pain, lost wages and his enjoyment of life, experienced pain and suffering and endured disability, the complaint says.

Schott blames Williams Brothers for causing the collision, saying it negligently failed to coordinate various trades to prevent live wires from being present in the workplace, failed to be aware of the areas of the job site that contained hot, exposed electrical lines and ordered workers to work in areas that contained exposed lines.

In addition to Williams Brothers, Schott names Pyramid Electrical Contractors as a defendant, saying it created a condition of live, exposed wires; failed to make other contractors aware of the live wires; failed to warn workers of exposed wires; failed to have exposed wires tied up and out of the way of workers; and failed to have proper safety meetings.

In his complaint, Schott is seeking a judgment of more than $100,000, plus other relief the court deems just.

He will be represented by Jarrod P. Beasley and Matthew P. Young of The Kuehn Law Firm in Belleville.

Madison County Circuit Court case number: 13-L-1426.