Woods & Brangwin Law Firm, PLLC

By LuAnn Morgan from the Othello Outlook

A lawsuit has been filed against Avista Corporation by Othello teacher Melissa Martinez.

The suit asks for payment for injuries sustained in an accident that occurred at Hiawatha Elementary School two years ago. Martinez broke several vertebrae and Avista employee Robert “Bob” Smith died of massive head injuries when the boom lift they were in collapsed and fell 20 to 30 feet to the ground.

The two were conducting an annual science experiment at the school that involves dropping eggs from 30 feet. The eggs are bundled together to insulate them.

The egg drop had been presented by fifth graders for over 20 years at the school. An estimated 600 students, plus teachers and parents, witnessed the accident.

“We allege the equipment should have been inspected by Avista,” John Brangwin, Martinez’s attorney, said. “The amount (to cover her injuries) by Avista would barely cover Melissa’s medical bills.”

After the accident, which happened May 31, 2007, Martinez was hospitalized and spent most of that summer recovering and needed daily medical care, Brangwin said in a press release issued last Thursday.

“She has undergone multiple surgeries, one as recent as this year,” he said. “Her bills keep adding up, becoming such a financial burden she had to take a second job.”

Martinez joined the staff at Hiawatha as a first-year