Home inspector seeks $1M for head injury

GALVESTON � A Montgomery County man is seeking $1 million after he was struck in the head by a pipe while inspecting a residence in Hitchcock last August, recent court documents say.

Werner Marx of Porter says that Elevators of Texas, Inc. failed to properly install a 20-pound pipe which was part of a wheelchair lift at the elevated home.

According to the suit filed Feb. 11 in Galveston County District Court, the pipe came loose and fell onto Marx, who was conducting a residential inspection for his employer Compass Pointe Homes.

His assignment required him to go up and down the lift. As the plaintiff was working, the pipe broke away from the lift and dropped 15 feet onto his head, the suit says.

It adds Marx sustained severe injuries which culminated in a concussion.

"The plaintiff continues to experience pain as well as post-concussion effects to this day," the original petition says.

Marx shows that the defendant last had control of the lift.

Consequently, he seeks $1 million in damages and a jury trial.

Attorney Chad Pinkerton of Webster is representing Marx, and Galveston County 212th District Court Judge Susan Criss is presiding over the case.

Case No. 11-cv-0216