WHEELING – A woman is suing a construction company and others for her husband’s death after he fell while working at a job site.
Boury Lofts GP LLC; Boury Lofts Limited Partnership; Boury Lofts Master Tenant LLC; the Woda Group Inc.; Woda Construction Inc.; and Sandow Development were all named as defendants in the suit.
Kevin Purpura was employed by Sandow and was working within the scope of his employment on Jan. 15, 2016, when he was instructed to assist cleaning out debris and otherwise participate in the demolition and rehabilitation and construction process at the Boury Warehouse in Wheeling, according to a complaint filed Jan. 12 in Ohio Circuit Court.
Julie Shay Glauser Purpura claims the disarray of the worksite and failure to properly take into account the presence of or improperly cover or make safe holes or cut outs for stairwells, shafts and other dangerous hazards presented a high degree of risk and strong probability of serious injury or death to the workers working in the area where her husband was working.
The defendants failed to properly construct barriers or take other safety measures where Kevin Purpura and other workers were working and intentionally exposed Kevin Purpura to unsafe working conditions, according to the suit.
Julie Purpura claims her husband fell at least one floor to the ground and suffered injuries and was pronounced dead approximately nine minutes later. Kevin Purpura’s cause of death was noted as fractures of skull and spine with laceration of the brain, brainstem and spinal cord, blunt trauma of head and trunk.
The large, unguarded hole or cut out that Kevin Purpura fell through was covered by a plastic sheet by another worker on a previous shift, according to the suit.
Julie Purpura claims an investigation was done by the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the defendants were cited for safety violations.
The defendants are responsible for Kevin Purpura’s wrongful death, according to the suit.
Julie Purpura is seeking compensatory damages. She is represented by Jay T. McCamic of McCamic Sacco & McCoid; and M. Jane Glauser of Schrader Companion Duff & Law.
Ohio Circuit Court case number: 18-C-23