Former Prison Inmate Sues Over Worksite Injury

Shannon Weidemann

Contributor

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A man who was serving prison time in Kennebec County is now suing the county for a worksite injury he incured while on a work crew. The man slipped and fell off of a roof and broke his ankle. He claims that the roof was wet and the work conditions were dangerous in his lawsuit.

The lawsuit, filed in Kennebec County Superior Court on May 17 by attorney Peter Clifford, charges the defendants with negligence, violation of civil rights, imposing too harsh a punishment, denial of liberty, illegal imprisonment, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and conspiracy to violate civil rights.

"They had an inmate doing dangerous work on a wet roof and he fell," Clifford said. "They should have had safety equipment and followed OSHA regulations."

The lawsuit says the workplace was "unreasonably dangerous" and that defendants failed to follow workplace regulations, to train and inspect, to provide adequate scaffolding and guardrail systems.

Prior to the lawsuit the county had been paying for all medical treatment related to the injury. Many inmates serve part of their sentence on work crews in the county.