BELLEVILLE - An accident on a work site has prompted a lawsuit against a worker for a demolition company.
Shanley Smith, who was employed to haul away debris from a site in Edwardsville, has accused the worker, employed by Hayden Wrecking Corporation, of negligence. His wife, Lee Ann, also joined the suit, claiming loss of consortium.
The suit against Robert Ryan Portugal, or Ryan Portugal, was filed Dec. 5 in St. Clair County Circuit Court. Portugal did not immediately reply to a request for comment from the Record.
It is alleged an incident on Vandalia Street on Dec. 7, 2017, led to Smith suffering injuries. He was at the time employed as a dump truck driver by B Garcia Trucking, which itself was hired by Hayden Wrecking to haul away material.
Smith was driving a tractor owned by B Garcia but the trailer was provided by Hayden, according to the suit.
It is claimed that the trailer was "dangerous and defective" because the tarp would unravel and cover the top prior to the plaintiff returning to the work site. He had to use a hand crank to roll back the tarp before workers for Hayden could load the material.
Machinery was used to dump loaded buckets of material into the trailer, which led to an unsafe work environment, it is stated.
According to the suit, Portugal "prematurely" dumped heavy material, which hit the tarp and caused the hand crank to jump out of the plaintiff's hand swing round and hitting him on the left arm, which knocked him to the ground.
This injury was caused by the "carelessness and negligence" of the defendant for failing to provide any warning, it is claimed. Smith fractured his left wrist, an injury that required surgery.
The plaintiff, represented by Aaron M. Vogel of Schultz Meyers of St. Louis, is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 2019-L-866.