The parents of a Pennsylvania teenager killed in a car accident last year filed a wrongful death lawsuit alleging that his employers allowed him to work too long and to consume alcohol while on the job.
The wrongful death lawsuit contends the owners of the Ramada Inn of Historic Ligonier were negligent when they allowed Sean Nemcheck to work a 16-hour shift, to have access to alcohol while working, and then to drive home drunk.
Nemcheck worked as a dishwasher and a waiter at the Pennsylvania hotel. He was killed Feb. 19, 2006, when his pickup crashed through a fence and was almost submerged in a pond shortly after 3 a.m.
Pennsylvania authorities said the teenager had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14 percent at the time of the car accident. A driver is considered intoxicated under Pennsylvania law with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent.
According to the wrongful death lawsuit, the hotel should not have allowed him to work so long as his shift started at 11 a.m. on Feb. 18 and he worked through 3 a.m. on Feb. 19. The suit also alleges the hotel knew that the teenager had unfettered access to alcoholic beverages while working, citing a two-hour stint when he was left unsupervised from 1 to 3 a.m.
The Nemchecks are seeking an unspecified amount in compensatory and punitive damages.
Hotel co-manager declined comment on the wrongful death suit.
Reference:
"Wrongful death suit filed against Ramada in Ligonier," pittsburghlive.com, Rich Holodofsky, August 2007.
