A Greene man permanently injured 18 months ago when he was crushed by 10,500 pounds of metal pilings while working on Interstate 95 in Hampden has sued highway contractor Cianbro Corp. alleging that unsafe working conditions caused his injuries.
Eric Jabbusch, 51, is blind and has difficulty walking because his pelvis was crushed. He is permanently disabled due to his injuries.
Jabbusch, whom first responders nicknamed “the Miracle Man”, is seeking unspecified damages for past and future medical expenses, lost earnings and lost earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, disfigurement and permanent injury.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Androscoggin County Superior Court in Auburn.
Cianbro declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Jabbusch was employed by H.B. Fleming of South Portland and was hurt as part of a crew working for Cianbro replacing a highway bridge in Hampden for the Maine Department of Transportation.
Cianbro workers were responsible for getting the pilings to the job site but did not properly secure the load, the complaint alleged. At the site, the top stack of pilings, weighing 10,500 pounds, “suddenly tipped, slid off the trailer and smashed into Jabbusch, knocking him to the ground and pinning him underneath the metal piles.”
Jabbusch was rushed to Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center with life-threatening injuries. Later, he was transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Jabbusch spent a month in hospitals and another at a rehabilitation facility before returning to Maine, where he spent months in physical therapy, the complaint said.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Cianbro for violating conditions in stacking the piles, the lawsuit said. The company admitted to the violation and paid a fine of nearly $27,000.
Jabbusch had an emotional reunion in July with firefighters who rescued him at the Hermon fire station to mark the first year of his survival.
Hermon Fire Chief Frank Roma told Jabbusch and his family that he never drives by that bridge over I-95,where the incident took place, without thinking of Jabbusch.
When Roma and his crew arrived at the scene they found a man trapped between a construction trailer and large pieces of steel attached to a crane, the chief said. It took teamwork among the emergency responders and implementing techniques that they’d learned in training but had not used before to rescue Jabbusch. Emergency crews also were at risk because the scene was unstable, Roma said.
“In my estimation and the estimation of other responders it is truly a miracle that he survived such severe injuries,” Roma said. “He fought to stay alive and recover at every step. He serves as an example to the rest of us.”