Pedro Escamilla, a carpenter from Texas, has filed a lawsuit against Petrin LLC and an unidentified individual, John Doe, following a harrowing incident at a construction site in Louisiana. The complaint was lodged on January 31, 2025, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana. Escamilla accuses Petrin LLC of negligence after an untrained supervisor allegedly dropped a metal scaffolding board that severely injured him.
The case revolves around events that transpired on April 8, 2024, at the Plaquemines LNG Export Plant in Port Sulphur, Louisiana. Pedro Escamilla was working as a carpenter for Cajun Industries LLC when he was crushed by scaffolding material dropped by John Doe and other employees of Petrin LLC. According to the complaint, Petrin LLC was responsible for installing scaffolding at the site but failed to adhere to safety protocols. The plaintiff claims that Petrin's employees neglected to warn him about their activities above him and did not install proper safety measures like red warning tape around the work area.
Escamilla’s legal team argues that Petrin's history shows a pattern of reckless disregard for safety and compliance with industry standards. The lawsuit cites multiple failures on Petrin's part: inadequate employee training, improper scheduling of work days, careless handling of materials, and lack of communication with other tradesmen on-site. These actions allegedly resulted in severe injuries to Escamilla’s back, neck, and shoulder.
In his pursuit of justice, Pedro Escamilla is seeking damages amounting to $2.5 million from the defendants. He is asking for compensation covering physical pain and suffering, mental anguish, loss of earning capacity, medical expenses both past and future, as well as legal costs incurred during this proceeding. Furthermore, he demands pre-judgment and post-judgment interest as permitted by law.
Representing Mr. Escamilla are attorneys from Garner & Munoz based in New Orleans and The Buzbee Law Firm from Houston. The case is identified under Case ID 2:25-cv-00225 but lacks specific details regarding the presiding judge or magistrate judge involved.