THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, February 14, 1996 TAG: 9602140379
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY MARC DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Dorey Electric was a company out of control the night in 1990 that an employee apprentice cut a live wire at the airport and was electrocuted, a state lawyer told a judge Tuesday.
The death of Lester G. Hales II was caused by a Dorey foreman who ignored state safety laws while company officials looked the other way, even after the foreman himself cut a live wire at the airport seven months earlier, said assistant attorney general John Butcher.
``Anyone who runs an organization in that way . . . you have deliberately created a potential for disaster,'' Butcher told Circuit Judge John C. Morrison Jr.
The accusation came on the opening day of a trial to determine if Dorey, one of the area's biggest electrical contractors, should be held responsible for Hales' death.
State labor investigators have slapped Dorey with seven safety citations and are pressing for civil penalties of $59,000.
The company, however, blames Hales for his own death. Dorey's attorney argued Tuesday that Hales failed to test the wire before cutting it, violating a cardinal safety rule for electrical workers.
``The evidence will show that the tragic death of Lester Hales was not the violation of any safety regulations, . . . but was an accident caused by human error,'' said Dorey attorney Guilford Ware.
He argued that Dorey could not have foreseen such an accident. ``For some reason, Lester Hales failed to follow the established procedure. He failed to test the line before he cut into it. . . . He apparently cut into the wrong wire,'' Ware said.
On Tuesday, a former Dorey apprentice who witnessed the electrocution offered dramatic testimony about Hales' death. He corroborated the state's claim that a Dorey foreman sent Hales into the manhole without a flashlight, without a meter to test whether the wire was live and ordered Hales to cut the line.
That caused an explosion that sounded like a shotgun blast and set Hales on fire, former apprentice Edward R. Hanbury testified.
He said the foreman's approach to safety was, ``Just do it. Get the job done.''
In opening statements, Dorey's attorney had argued that the company constantly emphasized safety, held regular meetings to brief employees on safety and gave employees awards for safety.
Yet Hanbury testified that when he left Dorey, he asked the company's superintendent why Dorey could not abide by safety rules and regulations to protect workers. The superintendent replied, ``Some people just can't live by other people's rules.''
The trial is expected to end Thursday or Friday. Morrison may rule at that time. ILLUSTRATION: A witness says Lester Hales was sent into a manhole without a
light or meter to detect a live wire.
KEYWORDS: TRIAL by CNB