Electrocution Victim’s Estate Sues Town Over Meeting House Death

By Andrew Gorosko

The estate of a painter who was electrocuted while working at Newtown Meeting House in July 2004 has sued the town, seeking money damages for the man’s death.

In a lawsuit filed July 19 in Danbury Superior Court, Virginia Martinez of Port Chester, N.Y., who is the executrix of the estate of Ivan Patricio Tenecela, sued the town and also The Heritage Preservation Trust of Newtown, Inc, a nonprofit group that operates and maintains the meeting house for the town.

The town has an August 22 court return date in the lawsuit through which the estates seeks money damages exceeding $15,000.

First Selectmen Herb Rosenthal was not available for comment this week on the legal action.

In the July 26, 2004, accident, in which an aluminum ladder made contact with an 8,000-volt power line on the south side of the meeting house, Mr Tenecela, 25, of Port Chester, N.Y., died due to accidental electrocution. Victor Saquisela, 21, also of Port Chester, was seriously burned. Both Mr Tenecela and Mr Saquisela were originally from Ecuador.

The two men were among a work crew that was completing a repainting project on the meeting house, a town-owned structure at 31 Main Street, which formerly served as Newtown Congregational Church. The landmark white-steepled building stands at the intersection of Main Street and West Street, adjacent to the Main Street flagpole.

Following an investigation, the federal agency that regulates worker safety fined the painting firm that was working at the meeting house $3,000 for the industrial accident. That fine is the result of a legal settlement reached between the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Peter Campbell, the head of Campbell Quality Painting, LLC, of Weston. The firm was fined for three serious violations of the US Occupational Safety and Health Act.

According to the lawsuit, while Mr Tenecela and another worker were attempting to remove an aluminum ladder from the south side of the building, the ladder came into contact with a high voltage electrical line that discharged electricity into Mr Tenecela’s body, causing a severe electrical shock and his death.

The plaintiff alleges that the town was negligent in Mr Tenecela’s death for various reasons. The plaintiff alleges that the town failed to inspect the premises to discover that Campbell’s working conditions were dangerous; failed to warn Mr Tenecela about those dangerous conditions; hired Campbell without making inquiries into its safety record or safety practices; and failed to hire a competent painting company.

The estate has experienced substantial expenses for Mr Tenecela’s hospital and medical care, funeral expenses, and burial, according to the lawsuit.

The electrocution resulted in Mr Tenecela suffering great pain, permanently losing his earning capacity, and permanently losing his enjoyment of life’s activities, according to the legal papers.

OSHA cited the painting firm for failing to provide appropriate ladders to employees working close to overhead power lines, or providing an equivalent means of protection, such as maintaining a safe minimum distance from those power lines, or wearing appropriate personal protective equipment, and/or shielding the power lines.

OSHA found that the firm failed to train its employees in procedures to minimize hazards associated with ladder use, and also failed to instruct employees in the recognition and avoidance of unsafe conditions.

OSHA also cited Campbell Quality Painting for lashing together two aluminum extension ladders to provide additional reach for painting work.

Following the accident, town police pursued an investigation, the results of which they turned over to OSHA for use in its investigation.