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Milbrodt v. Eslich Wrecking Co.
Peter J. Milbrodt, 32, was working from the elevated boom of a city truck on Tuscarawas Street E on May 24, 2004, when an Eslich Wrecking Co. dump truck crashed into the bucket.
The collision threw Milbrodt, who was not wearing a safety harness, from the bucket.
Dump truck driver Robert D. Martz was legally drunk and had cocaine in his system at the time of the accident, Stark County prosecutors said. His truck was also overloaded with scrap material.
Martz pleaded guilty to aggravated vehicular homicide, driving under the influence and operating an overweight vehicle in September 2004. The 66-year-old Nimishillen Township man is serving a five-year prison sentence at Hocking Correctional Facility.
Milbrodt’s family sued Eslich Wrecking Co. and Martz for $10 million, saying that Martz, with a history of driving drunk, should never been allowed to drive a 30-ton dump truck.
When Eslich hired Martz in 2003, a background check would have revealed a history of traffic violations and suggested a problem with alcohol, but the company never performed one, the family’s attorneys have said.
Even after Martz was convicted of driving under the influence in 2003, Eslich allowed him to return to his job without drug and alcohol testing, the lawsuit said.
The company also allowed its workers to overload the dump truck, making it harder to control, the family’s complaint said.
The Ohio Department of Commerce cited the city for safety lapses involving harnesses and traffic control. But the family’s attorneys argued that Milbrodt and his co-worker took proper precautions by placing cones around their truck and that a safety harness would not have saved Milbrodt’s life in this situation.
"Cocaine, alcohol and a company’s relentless pursuit of profit resulted in Pete Milbrodt’s death. The real tragedy is that his death could have been easily prevented," the family’s attorney, Allen Schulman wrote in a statement of facts for Stark County Probate Judge Dixie Park.
Park approved the wrongful-death settlement late last month. The money is split between Milbrodt’s survivors, including his widow and three young sons. A third of the settlement goes to attorney fees.
"The lawsuit involving the tragic and untimely death of Peter Milbrodt has been settled to the mutual satisfaction of all interested parties," Schulman said Thursday.
Schulman said the settlement agreement prevents him, fellow attorneys Michael Boske and Jeremy Foltz, and the Milbrodts from saying more about the case.
Eslich officials and an attorney for the company did not return calls seeking comment.
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