HOUSTON – Alleging her husband succumbed to injuries sustained in a fall from a scaffold, Harris County resident Imelda Grajales has filed a lawsuit.
Grajales initiated legal action on behalf of her children with the late Jeronimo Lara against US Carpet and Floors; Sunbelt Rentals, Inc.; and Haulotte US, Inc. in the Harris County 80th District Court on Jan. 3.
The suit explains that US Carpet hired Lara to install tile over a fireplace and going up to a high rise ceiling, stating the task prompted the company to rent a mobile scaffold from Sunbelt Rentals.
According to the complaint, US Carpet and Sunbelt Rentals did not instruct the father of two how to safely use the Bil-Jax rolling utility scaffold, which was reportedly manufactured by Haulotte, nor the did the piece of equipment come with safety stickers or written material explaining how to properly install the outriggers on the scaffold.
“Mr. Lara was working at a height of approximately 14 feet,” court papers say. “While working on the scaffold at this height, the scaffold toppled backwards because the outriggers failed and/or were not properly installed.”
Per the suit, the fall mortally wounded Lara.
Consequently, his widow seeks unspecified monetary damages and a jury trial.
She is represented by attorneys Jim Hart, Eloy E. Gaitan, and Cesar Tavares of the law firm Williams, Kherkher, Hart, Boundas, L.L.P. in Houston.
Harris County 80th District Court Case No. 2018-0411