A catastrophic accident at a construction site has led to a lawsuit filed in Harris County, Texas. On June 28, 2024, Pedro Gomez Cervantes filed a complaint against Littlefield Brothers Concrete Construction, Inc., Ellisor Constructors, Inc., ESC Safety Consulting, LLC, and Juan Salgado.
The incident occurred on August 29, 2022, when Cervantes was working for Bahena Steel LLC at a job site managed by Littlefield Brothers Concrete Construction. While operating an excavator machine, Juan Salgado allegedly became distracted and caused the excavator shovel bucket to crash onto Cervantes. The impact resulted in severe injuries including a broken pelvis. According to the complaint, "Defendant SALGADO became distracted and attempted to retrieve his lunch box and hit a lever causing the excavator shovel bucket to crash on top of Plaintiff." Cervantes claims that the negligence of all defendants directly led to his injuries.
Cervantes accuses Littlefield Brothers Concrete Construction and Ellisor Constructors of failing to maintain safe working conditions and not properly supervising their employees. Additionally, ESC Safety Consulting is accused of not performing adequate job inspections and compliance checks. The plaintiff alleges that these failures constitute gross negligence under Texas law. He further invokes the doctrine of respondeat superior, holding the companies vicariously liable for Salgado's actions as he was acting within the scope of his employment at the time.
Cervantes seeks various forms of relief from the court including actual damages for physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, medical expenses both past and future, physical impairment and disfigurement. He also seeks exemplary damages due to what he describes as gross negligence by the defendants. The total monetary relief sought exceeds $1 million.
Representing Cervantes are attorneys Steve Kherkher, Jesus Garcia Jr., Matt L. Martin, and Elizabeth Moran from Kherkher Garcia LLP. The case is presided over by Judge Monica Jackson in Harris County District Court under Case ID 2024-41376.