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Man sues SU after janitorial service worker drops radio onto his head

Will Fudge | Staff Photographer

The plaintiff was attending an SU football game at the time of the incident.

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A man is suing Syracuse University and an associated janitorial service after one of the service’s workers dropped a portable radio from the upper level of the Carrier Dome onto his head.

ABM Industries, the janitorial company also named in the suit, was contracting at the Dome for services related to a Sept. 9, 2017 football game against Middle Tennessee State University. The worker who dropped the radio onto the plaintiff’s head was mopping up a liquid spill on the upper floor of the Dome, the lawsuit alleges. 

The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the state Supreme Court in Oswego County, claims that SU and ABM Industries were negligent. The plaintiff, who was sitting on a lower level of the Dome, suffered severe and permanent injuries as a result of the incident, according to the lawsuit. 

“The personal injuries sustained by the plaintiff were due solely to the negligence and carelessness of the defendant,” the lawsuit reads. 



SU does not comment on pending litigation, said Sarah Scalese, senior associate vice president for university communications.  

The plaintiff is seeking financial compensation as well as the payment of court costs. 

The Dome has been closed since March as it undergoes a $118 million renovation project that includes the installation of a new roof and accessibility measures to comply with guidelines from the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The stadium is expected to be open for operation before SU’s football home-opener against Georgia Tech on Sept. 26. 

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