Second Building Collapse Victim Files Lawsuit
On Friday morning, attorneys representing Linda Bell, who was injured in the building collapse at 22nd and Market streets earlier this week, filed a personal injury lawsuit in Philadelphia’s Common Pleas Court.
Bell, a 50-year-old South Philadelphia resident, was shopping at the Salvation Army at the time of the collapse. In the Fox 29 interview seen below, she said that she was buried under rubble for about 15 minutes before being rescued. “I just prayed,” she told Fox 29. “And I said, ‘God, handle this situation, carry me through the storm.'” She reportedly has “severe back injuries.”
The suit names building owner Richard Basciano, Basciano’s STB Investments, demolition contractor Griffin Campbell and Campbell’s company.
Judge Ellen Ceisler already issued an order in the case, granting Bell’s emergency motion to allow her attorneys and experts to inspect the demolition area on Saturday morning.
Here, the order:
Upon consideration of plaintiff’s emergency motion to compel entry upon land for inspection and preservation of evidence, it is hereby ordered and decreed that counsel and experts for all parties shall have the right to inspect, photograph, and video record the demolition of the area of the subject collapse starting on 6/8/13 at 9:00 A.M. from a safe distance and in a manner that does not impede any ongoing investigation.
It is further ordered that defendants must preserve all documents related to the demolition project at issue including: all permits, engineering surveys, demolition plans, shoring plans, site surveys, deeds, property records, applications and all other related documents.
It is further ordered that once site is deemed safe, all remaining debris shall remain on site for approximately 2 days and the site may be examined, inspected, photographed and video recorded at a mutually agreed time.
The City shall provide all parties with location(s) to which any debris has already been removed as of this date to the best of their ability and the locations of where the debris will be transported going forward.
Surviving victim Nadine White filed a similar lawsuit on Thursday, the first of many to come.
Philadelphia News, Weather and Sports from WTXF FOX 29
