Suit filed in twin span construction accident

Anybody remember the I-10 twin span construction accident that happened this past October?

Ten workers fell more than 30 feet into Lake Pontchartrain, and one of them was trapped under a 70-ton, 135-foot concrete girder. The worker trapped under the girder did not survive. (See here, here.)

The widow of the deceased worker filed suit last Friday:

The flaws in the girder, made by Gulf Coast Pre-Stress of Pass Christian, Miss., were known to both the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development and the company responsible for engineering and inspection of the construction of the $800 million Interstate 10 bridge, according to the suit filed in Orleans Parish Civil District Court.

A couple of notes for non-lawyers. The story about the lawsuit says that (1) the widow "is seeking an unspecified amount of damages" and (2) the suit "does not name Boh Bros. Construction Co., the lead contractor on the project and Blackmon's employer." This is because (1) in Louisiana state court, you are not allowed to plead a specific amount of damages, La.CCP.893, and because (2) an employee may only seek worker's compensation benefits from his employer for on-the-job injuries, La. R.S. 23:1032. Posted by MBC at December 15, 2008 10:58 PM