Brandon Socia, a plumber, received an electrical shock while working under a house and claims his co-workers were negligent when they failed to turn off the power. Socia is suing his employer Charles Marcum, owner of Impact Plumbing Co., for more than $75,000.
Socia filed his personal injury suit with the Jefferson County District Court on June 22. Judge Bob Wortham, 58th Judicial District, has been assigned to the case.
According to the plaintiff's original petition, sometime in April of 2007, Socia was involved in an accident while he was working in Port Arthur, Texas.
"Plaintiff was an employee of Impact Plumbing," the suit said. "He was at a residence along with two other employees…and was directed to perform work underneath a residence. Plaintiff's co-workers did not exercise ordinary care in directing plaintiff to perform the work and in failing to turn off the electricity. The accident was caused by one or more negligent acts and/or omissions on the part of the defendant, which were the proximate cause of personal injuries to the plaintiff."
As a result, Socia sustained severe and permanent personal injuries, the suit said. However, the suit did not describe Socia's injuries in detail, but did say the defendant was not a subscriber of Texas Workers' Compensation.
"Plaintiff would show that although the employer, defendant, have employees in excess of the number required under the law and would otherwise qualify to become a subscriber under the Texas Workers' Compensation Act, thereby covering the plaintiff and his fellow employees with workers' compensation insurance," the suit said. "Defendant failed to obtain workers' compensation and thus failed to provide the plaintiff and his fellow employees with workers' compensation benefits."
In addition, Socia also claims the defendant negligently failed to keep a proper lookout for his safety that would have been maintained by a person of ordinary prudence under the same or similar circumstances, failed to turn off the electricity, and failed to exercise ordinary care as a person of ordinary prudence would have maintained under the same or similar circumstances.
He is suing for physical pain and suffering in the past and future, mental anguish in the past and future, lost wages, loss of earning capacity, disfigurement in the past and future, physical impairment in the past and future, and past and future medical expenses.
"Plaintiff prays that the defendants be cited to appear and answer herein as the law directs, and that upon final hearing, plaintiff will recover judgment of and from the defendant, pursuant to the above and foregoing allegations in such amounts as the evidence may show proper at the time of trial; together with interest thereon at the legal rate, both prejudgment and post-judgment, costs of court, and for such other and further relief, both general and special, at law and in equity, to which plaintiff may be justly entitled," the suit said.
Socia also asserts a claim for "prejudgment interest for all elements of damages that such interest is allowed," the suit said.
He is represented by attorney Anthony Malley III of the Moore Landrey law firm.
Malley is an associate in the Beaumont office of Moore Landrey, L.L.P. where he represents individuals in a wide array of personal injury and civil litigation, including other toxic torts, industrial accidents, Anti-Trust actions, medical malpractice and contract actions. Prior to joining Moore Landrey, Malley managed a caseload of approximately 4,100 plaintiffs in asbestos litigation with a trial docket of hundreds of individual trial settings for both manufacturers and premise cases in Jefferson, Orange, Galveston, and other counties in Texas, the firm's Web site said.
Case No. A179-555