Suit Claims Two Companies Responsible For Worker's Fatal Fall

A lawsuit has been filed against two companies alleging that a man suffered fatal personal injuries in a fall because they skimped on safety measures for employees.

According to the suit filed in West Virginia’s Ohio Circuit Court by Cindy Samuelson, administratrix of the estate of Roger Lee Samuelson, against Armstrong Steel Erectors Inc. and The Velotta Company, Samuelson was an employee of Armstrong Steel.

The suit says that on September 10, 2007, Samuelson was part of a crew that was building a bridge on U.S. 19 near Osage, just outside of Morgantown.

The foreman had instructed the work crew to install steel deck pans on iron angles and secure them with tapping screws. In order to do so, Samuelson and other workers had to work on bridge beams approximately 50 feet above the ground.

According to the complaint, despite the height at which the crew was working, Samuelson was not “tied off.” As he was working, Samuelson stepped on an unsecured panel, which slid and caused him to fall to his death from the bridge into the shallow, rocky creek below, according to the complaint.

The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, in addition to costs of suit.