MELVIN AND LINDA CERNY, GEOTECHNICAL SERVICES V HAWKINS CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, STATE OF NEBRASKA, OTHERS

According to this suit, Hawkins Construction Company was charged with failing to use reasonable and ordinary care in the construction, maintenance and repair of the southbound I-680 freeway ramp at Pacific Street. The suit claims that Hawkins Construction Company left the ramp open during construction, even though it was in an inherently dangerous condition, failed to post warning signs and the temporary ramp lacked adequate space for acceleration and observation of freeway traffic.

As a result, the case charged that Melvin Cerny’s car was rear ended in an accident on the ramp. He suffered severe injuries, lost income and ended up in a wheel chair. The Cerny’s sued for $525,000.

Gerald Barrett was a laborer employee of Hawkins Construction. He suffered severe spinal injuries while he was working for Hawkins Construction. His court suit claimed he lost almost two years of work from his injuries and suffered permanent, partial disabilities. His case ended up in court and Hawkins Construction agreed to settle the matter by making a substantial payment to Mr. Barrett.

In an apparent effort to make sure that only the "little people" pay their fair share of taxes, Hawkins Construction Company sought to dodge the county’s property tax assessment in this court action, claiming that the county’s actions were unconstitutional.

Edward Meinke was an employee of Weaver Glass on the First National Bank Project at 114th and Dodge Street in West Omaha. Hawkins Construction was the general contractor on that job and was responsible for maintaining safe stairways and stairwells on that project.

According to Meinke’s complaint, he had to attempt to descend an unlighted stairwell and lost his footing. He twisted his ankle and fell, suffering a severe injury. His suit charged that Hawkins Construction’s negligence and carelessness consisted of the following:

• Failure to light the stairwell.

• Failing to keep the stairwell and stairway in a clean and orderly condition.

• Failing to post a warning that the stairway was unsafe.

• Failing to provide a safe place to work.

Meinke claimed that he lost 17 days of work because of his permanent injury and he sued for special and general damages. He sued for over $2,000.

Unwisely, Hawkins Construction decided to fight the suit. The case went to a jury, which ruled against Hawkins Construction and awarded damages of $7,500 to Meinke.

In this unusual case, Hawkins Construction Company bid on a Nebraska highway job, while relying on the $38,000 bid for part of the work, submitted by Reiman Corporation. Reiman Corporation charged that Hawkins Construction Company never formally accepted Reiman’s bid and later refused to perform the work for $38,000. Hawkins Construction Company then sued Reiman. The trial court granted Reiman’s motion for a summary judgement against Hawkins Construction Company and the appeals court affirmed the finding against Hawkins Construction Company.

In this bizarre case, Donofrio charged that he was driving down West D Street in Omaha, when he approached a Hawkins Construction job site. Although Donofrio stopped his vehicle at the request of the Hawkins Construction flagman, the flagman "violently grabbed [his] left arm. When [Donofrio] attempted to drive away [the flagman] held onto [his] arm, thereby causing severe injuries. . ."

Donofrio filed a court suit, claiming he suffered severe and disabling injuries to his arm. He charged that Hawkins Construction, through the actions of its flagman employee, was negligent, for failing to use reasonable care in directing traffic at a construction zone and for failing to follow Hawkins Construction’s written safety guidelines for the duties of flagmen at construction zones. The case was later settled.

According to these lawsuits, Edward Williams was on his way to catch a flight at Omaha’s Eppley Airport when he tried to walk across an uneven floor that was under construction by Hawkins Construction Company. He slipped and fell, suffering severe injuries to his leg and ankle. Two months earlier, Laura Hughes was also at Eppley Airport, when she fell over a sharp drop-off in a floor in the Terminal. Hughes’ suit charged that she suffered permanent injuries to her knees and legs. The separately filed suits charged that Hawkins Construction Company:

• Failed to warn of the dangerous condition of the floor.

• Failed to provide persons with a safe place to walk.

• Failed to exercise reasonable care to make the premises safe.

This lawsuit charged that Hawkins Construction was the general contractor on a project at the Veteran’s Administration Hospital in Omaha, Nebraska and Eliason & Knuth was the drywall and sheet rock subcontractor. Bryan Vossler was an Eliason & Knuth employee.

While Vossler was working on a scaffold, he was smashed on the head by a falling 4" x 4", 12-foot shoring beam. Vossler was knocked from the scaffolding and fell another 2 ½ stories to another scaffolding platform. He suffered serious injuries from the fall, including fractures in his vertebrae, head lacerations and other sprains and fractures. He was temporarily, totally disabled and suffered permanent, partial disabilities. His medical bills totaled over $8,800. He filed a court suit for damages from Hawkins Construction and others.

His suit charged that Hawkins Construction’s negligence by itself and with others, included:

• Failure to warn Vossler that improperly secured beams were being used above his work area. • Failure to adequately supervise the securing and bracing of the shoring beams and the related operations.

• Failure to coordinate the construction work on the project so that Vossler would not have to work under the area where the shoring beams were in use.

• Failure to provide Vossler with adequate overhead protection.

• Failure to provide Vossler with a reasonably safe place to work.

According to this complaint, O’Kelly was an employee of Hawkins Construction. He suffered a back injury as a result of an on-the-job accident. He claimed he was permanently disabled by 25 percent and his medical bills alone totaled $6,681. His case ended up in State District Court and Hawkins Construction settled it by agreeing to have their insurance carrier, Cigna, pay O’Kelly $14,551.

Hawkins Construction Company won the bid for a State of Nebraska highway project in Otoe County, but S & S Construction charges in this court suit that they were not fully paid for the rental of a grader to one of Hawkins Construction Company’s subcontractors. S&S sued Hawkins Construction Company and others for $6,850. This may seem like a minor controversy, but if you were a construction customer of Hawkins Construction Company and a subcontractor went unpaid, you could be facing a lien against your property. A lien could encumber your property as effectively as another mortgage. Prompt payment of debts is a very important obligation of a construction contractor.

The Airport Authority of the City of Omaha hired Hawkins Construction Company to realign and construct a storm sewer. Once the job began, Hawkins Construction Company complained that they were owed more money than their original bid, because the project site had to be dewatered.

The Airport Authority rejected Hawkins Construction Company’s claim and charged that;

• The contract required Hawkins Construction Company to perform a groundwater elevation investigation.

• The contract placed a duty on Hawkins Construction Company to perform the proper testing, but Hawkins Construction Company did not do so.

Hawkins Construction Company apparently also tried to finesse the entire process. They hired an attorney who was a former member of the Board of Directors of the Omaha Airport Board Authority and by hiring a law firm that also represented the Authority on certain matters, including the contract for the Hawkins Construction Company job!