A St. Cloud man is accusing a south Orange County company of negligence after one of its "peeler machines" cut off his penis in an industrial accident last year.
Edgardo Toucet Echevarria, 44, was injured Jan. 13, 2010 at Future Foam Carpet Cushion after he removed a "foam core" from a machine with a steel blade that is used to cut blocks of carpeting foam, according to a new lawsuit.
He was not trained in operating the machine and the maneuver he performed at the request of supervisors activated the equipment, the suit alleges.
Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited Future Foam on 10 serious violations stemming from the January 2010 incident, spokesman Michael D'Aquino said.
OSHA, the federal agency charged with investigating workplace injuries and deaths, proposed fines of $42,500. D'Aquino said Future Foam is contesting the citations.
The suit also claims employees had improperly removed a protective guard from the machine.
The medical status of Echavarria, who is referred in the lawsuit as Edgardo Toucet, is not known. He did not return calls to the Orlando Sentinel this week.
"The surgically sharp steel blade sliced through Toucet's pelvis cutting off his penis and testicles while virtually cutting his body in half," the lawsuit states.
Echavarria claims that Future Foam "had a duty not to behave in a manner that was virtually certain to result in death or injury to workers."
"Future Foam was aware of prior instances in which workers had suffered injury or death due to insufficient, tampered with, or missing protection on this type of machine," the lawsuit states. "[The company's] maintenance and repair staff had failed and/or refused to properly upgrade the guarding."
The lawsuit also includes a negligence claim against Baumer of America, the company that manufactures the peeler machine.
It is unclear if a complaint was filed with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the federal agency charged with investigating workplace injuries and deaths.
Legal documents show that in addition to the negligence claims, Echevarria is seeking punitive damages of more than $15,000 for disfigurement, loss of capacity for the enjoyment of life, medical expenses, loss of earnings, "virtual certainty," strict liability, and loss of earning capacity.
His attorney, Gene Odom of Brandon, was unavailable for comment.
Officials at Future Foam and Baumer did not immediately return calls to the Orlando Sentinel.
Records show Future Foam is based in Iowa, but has companies across the country, including the subsidiary in south Orange County off Gemini Boulevard. Baumer is a German company with offices in New Jersey.
By Walter Pacheco, Orlando Sentinel
1:59 p.m. EST , February 16, 2011