By Dan Nienaber
Free Press Staff Writer
ST PETER —
A Nicollet man who received serious injuries while doing electrical work at a farm is suing a company that was installing grain bins there.
Chris Gappa was doing electrical work at a Nicollet County farm in July 2009 when an employee with a company installing grain bins at the same location asked for assistance. The electricity had failed and the employee with GSI Holdings asked Gappa to look at a large electrical cord that had stopped working.
When Gappa grabbed the cord, it blew up and caught his arm on fire, according to a civil lawsuit filed in Nicollet County District Court. He suffered severe and permanent injuries, the complaint said. He is suing for medical expenses and lost wages.
The bins were being installed by GSI Holdings, an international company, and Hiltner Grain Bin Construction of Belgrade. Both are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Gappa was doing other electrical work at the farm for Otto Electric in Nicollet.
Gappa’s lawsuit claims GSI and Hiltner were negligent when they set up the electricity for the bins. The system didn’t have proper overcurrent protection, was using the wrong voltage and there were too many wires connected to one terminal, the complaint said.
The electrical meters also didn’t have the proper disconnects and overload protection, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit also accuses the company of violating state statutes using an unlicensed contractor to install the electrical system, claiming the unlicensed installer offered a lower fee for services than a bid provided by a licensed electrician. State statutes also were violated because the system, which allegedly wasn’t inspected, didn’t follow the National Electric Safety Code, the complaint said.
