Man burned in Wal-Mart accident sues

One of the workers critically injured in an electrical accident at the new Wal-Mart Supercenter is suing the multi-national corporation, along with the general contractor, LaSalle Group, Inc., and Duke Energy.\nThe lawsuit was filed for Stephen Abbott, 27, of Otterbein, Ind., and his wife Stephanie Friday at the Monroe Circuit Court. Attorney John Boren of Martinsville is representing the plaintiffs.\nAbbott and two of his co-workers, Robert Eury, 29, of Bloomington, and Scott Shelton, 35, of Anderson, were severely burned Aug. 26 after the electrical panels they were working on became charged with up to 12,000 volts of electricity and shorted, sending an energy arc sparking out and lighting the men on fire. The lawsuit said that prior to Aug. 26, the contractors had worked on electrical units only when the power was off. The men all worked for Electromation, Inc. of Muncie, which was not named in the suit. \nIn the lawsuit, the Abbots accuse Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. of not providing a safe work site and state that the company is liable because it hired the on-site construction supervisor who monitored the day-to-day operation of the project with the general contractor, LaSalle Group, Inc. \nLaSalle Group, Inc., is accused of failing to provide a safe work place by not hiring safety supervisors, not making timely inspections or holding effective safety meetings and providing inadequate safety supervision.\nIn addition, the lawsuit says Duke Energy did not conform to industry or governmental standards.\nThe Abbotts are asking to be awarded damages "in an amount sufficient to compensate them for their losses" and are requesting a jury trial to determine these amounts. \nThe lawsuit said that, among other things, the Abbotts, who have two children, have suffered physical and emotional pain, the loss of income, the loss of quality of life and incurred medical expenses.\nFriends and co-workers say the men were not wearing protective gear while they worked with the live service wires to the building.\n"He wore the same thing to work every day -- a T-shirt and jeans," Eury's friend Bob Johnson, 46, of Bloomington told the Indiana Daily Student Sept. 6.\nAbbott suffered second- and third-degree burns to more than 90 percent of his body, the lawsuit said. Sunday night, a month and a half after the accident, all three men remained in critical condition in Wishard Hospital's burn center in Indianapolis.\nThe men have at least a month and a half more of in-patient recovery time ahead of them, as the burn center grafts newly grown skin onto their bodies.