courts:

Companies, city sued over fatal M Resort construction accident

Thursday, July 9, 2009 | 12:12 p.m.

The city of Henderson and companies associated with building the M Resort have been sued over a January accident in which a pickup truck crashed into construction machinery and the pickup driver was killed.

The family of Mario Lopez of Las Vegas filed suit Wednesday in Clark County District Court against the city, the M Resort, resort builder Marnell Corrao Associates, contractor Southern Nevada Paving and its owner Aggregate Industries; and contractor Roadsafe Traffic Systems.

Lopez was 42 when he died on Jan. 21. The lawsuit said that about 4 a.m. that morning, he was traveling southbound in his 2007 Dodge Ram pickup truck on Gilespie Street when he turned westbound on Volunteer Boulevard.

The suit says Lopez's vehicle collided with a 101,000-pound Caterpillar scraper owned by Southern Nevada Paving that was blocking the roadway as part of the construction project, and that Lopez's pickup burst into flames and that he burned to death.

The suit charges the city owned and controlled the road and that the other defendants were using it for the construction project. It alleges the scraper was not equipped with reflective materials that could have warned motorists of the hazard.

"There were no signs, barriers, lights or personnel to warn the public that the area was a construction zone or that the roadway was blocked," the suit charges.

It claims the defendants "either had no traffic safety plan or if they had a traffic safety plan, it was negligently formulated or it was negligently implemented, inspected and enforced."

A request for comment was left Thursday with the Henderson city attorney's office. A Henderson police spokesman declined comment on the investigation, citing the litigation against the city.

A Southern Nevada Paving spokesman declined comment and a request for comment was placed with the M Resort.

Discussion: 10 comments so far…

By vc

7/9/09 at 2:13 p.m.

Suggest removal

The problem is the signs were not printed in spanish.
By skemp311

7/9/09 at 3:38 p.m.

Suggest removal

Was he legal? If he has a social security number and pays taxes then he has a case.
By SafetyNow

7/9/09 at 4:55 p.m.

Suggest removal

Thumper,
I would love to hear more details about what happened to you as we are working with members of congress to prevent such injustices from occurring. Please contact me @ mvivenzi@usmwf.org or SafeInHeaven2002@aol.com.
Mary Vivenzi
United Support & Memorial for Workplace Fatalities
http://usmwf.org/
&
The Weekly Toll
http://weeklytoll.blogspot.com/
By weimaranerdad

7/10/09 at 8:27 a.m.

Suggest removal

I'm sorry...how fast was Mr. Lopez driving when he slammed into a 101,000 lb Caterpillar? I'll bet he was speeding. Those vehicles are monstrous. Did it all of a sudden just magically appear in the road? This story is a testament to the driving skills that are present in Las Vegas today. As in non-existent.
By bonehead

7/11/09 at 8:49 a.m.

Suggest removal

hay thumper m is in city of henderson,clark county is not involved,clark county has by far the most efficent inspections dept. in u.s.a.
By mred

7/12/09 at 1:12 p.m.

Suggest removal

The M Resort is a ghost town, maybe some investigators and attorneys will go out there and buy a sandwich. They need the biz.
By bonehead

7/13/09 at 2:02 p.m.

Suggest removal

thumper how many high rise bldgs. have fallen down or are unsafe to occupy answer none.We have the safest bldgs. in usa,and we build at record pace,kessler report was garbage,the lone inspector fired was hired back with full pay.Now go sit on daddys lap and cry about something else.
By dobson

7/23/09 at 2:37 p.m.

Suggest removal

Well this doesn't surprise me one bit that Southern Nevada Paving is named in this law suit! I've worked for this company and they have no respect for the public safety, I learned the hard way if you don't like what they are doing don't say nothing and do your job and go home but if you do say any thing you no longer work for them. I remember working on a site where we lined equipment up along the road side because we didn't have enough road side cones. and on another job we line trucks up across a road the wasn't paved yet to keep the public off of it. The only thing SNP INC. cares about is that who ever plays along with them and cowers down to them they make sure they say employed. But if they find out which employee they can blame this on they will, They will look for an escape goat on this. SNP is the most gutless company around.