Woman sues over scaffolding collapse

A woman claims she suffered severe injuries after scaffolding collapsed beneath her while she was painting.

Autumn Swarringin filed a lawsuit Oct. 8 in Madison County Circuit Court against Robert Davis doing business as Davis Reliable Drywall and Painting, P&A Drywall Supply and Michael Reed.

Swarringin claims she was working as a subcontractor on a painting project at a residential home in Troy for Davis Reliable Drywall and Painting. Davis Reliable instructed Swarringin to paint a portion of the house using scaffolding it provided, according to the complaint.

However, on May 31, 2012, while Swarringin was painting, the scaffolding she was using collapsed beneath her, the suit states.

Because of her fall, Swarringin experienced pain and suffering, endured disability, lost her normal life, suffered disfigurement and incurred medical costs, the complaint says. She also claims she lost her income and her earning capacity.

Swarringin blames Davis Reliable Drywall and Painting for causing her fall, saying it negligently failed to properly supervise her work, failed to instruct her on how to properly perform her work, failed to provide a scaffold that was safe and required her to work more than six feet above the ground without access to guardrails.

She also names P&A Drywall Supply as a defendant, saying it sold the scaffolding to Davis Reliable Drywall and Painting. Reed is named as a defendant for his role in building the scaffolding and other equipment for use in the construction activities.

In her complaint, Swarringin seeks an unspecified judgment, plus costs.

Edward J. Szewczyk of Callis, Papa, Hale and Szewczyk in Granite City and Philip J. Rarick of Granite City will be representing her.

Madison County Circuit Court case number: 13-L-1687.