Phani Guthula may not have seen “The Gates of Hell”, one of the most famous sculptures by Auguste Rodin housed in the Rodin Museum in Philadelphia, Pa., but the engineer faced something akin to the sculpture’s title when he fell 38 feet through a glass attic floor of the museum in November 2012.
Earlier this month, Guthula, an energy-efficiency engineer from Philadelphia, reached a $7.25 million in settlement in a court in Philadelphia after he sued the defendants, including the museum’s private security company, on various grounds.
His attorneys at Saltz, Mongeluzzi, Barrett & Bendesky, P.C., said May 10 that a settlement has been reached in the Nov. 26, 2012 case when Guthula, 27, nearly died due to the fall at the museum.
Guthula headed out onto the surface before suddenly plummeting to the floor 38 feet below. He fell while he was working for consulting contractor ICF International and had gone there to inspect the lighting fixtures in the museum that had opened to visitors after completing an extensive, $9 million renovation. The building’s surveillance cameras captured the graphic footage of Guthula’s fall.
The settlement was reached May 6 just as the jury selection in the case was about to begin in Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas on Guthula’s numerous claims against the defendants, who allegedly were “collectively responsible” for the failure to protect Guthula from harm when he stepped onto the hazardous, unprotected glass floor.
As a result of the fall, Guthula suffered multiple fractures and other traumatic injuries from head to toe and was hospitalized for more than 45 days, underwent more than 15 surgeries, and requires intensive lifelong medical care.
The Rodin, which was released as a defendant from the litigation, is owned and operated by the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Larry Bendesky, a member of Guthula’s legal team at SMBB noted that one of the Rodin’s most famous sculptures is titled ‘The Gates of Hell’, and Guthula’s fall could have had the same title. “The chilling picture of Phani Guthula falling nearly to his death could have the same title; his life has been a living hell every day since his fall. His accident was totally preventable had those responsible for his safety just done their job,” Bendesky aid.
Attorney David Kwass said that testimony at trial clearly would have demonstrated that the defendants failed miserably in their duty to protect Guthula. He said that guard railings installed to keep people off the glass floor were not in place, security personnel who escorted him to the site were uninformed and inattentive, and there was no signage to warn against a fall hazard.
“Mr. Guthula hopes that there are lessons learned by those who are responsible for workplace safety. The best plans and precautions are meaningless – as they were in his case – if they are not followed by everyone involved,” Kwass said.
Defendants in the settlement were the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Allied Barton Security Services. The plaintiff was not going to assert claims at trial against L.F. Driscoll Construction Co., the museum’s renovation contractor or Elliott-Lewis Corp, the building maintenance contractor, according to a press release announcing the settlement.
The post Engineer To Get $7.5 Million In Settlement After Fall In Pa. Museum appeared first on News India Times.