CLARKSBURG — A Pennsylvania couple is suing United States government agencies, alleging breach of duty and negligence in the electrocution of the husband.
Frank Gaus, III and Kristi Gaus filed a complaint in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia Clarksburg Division against The General Services Administration of the United States of America, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States of America, et al. alleging violation of the law, pursuant to terms of the Federal Tort Claims Act.
According to the complaint, on May 7, 2015, Frank Gaus III was dispatched by his employer to perform electrical maintenance testing and diagnoses of the electrical systems in the facility of NOAA Supercomputing Center in Fairmont, West Virginia. The suit says the defendants provided him with a set of electrical drawings to use during the testing.
However, unknown to the plaintiff, the lawsuit states, the electrical systems are a hazard to anyone performing maintenance testing and Gaus relied on the drawings that voltage verification was safe for testing. As a result, during the maintenance, the suit says Gaus received severe electrical shock and suffered arc flash burn.
The plaintiffs allege the defendants failed to have in place and/or to follow recognized and well-known protocols for the installation of electrical systems to verify that the installation was done properly and that the electrical drawings for the electrical system properly showed the correct installation of the system.
Frank and Kristi Gaus seek trial by jury, court costs, attorney fees and all other just and proper relief. They are represented by attorney Vincent M. Trivelli in Morgantown.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia Clarksburg Division case number 1:18-cv-160
