Lawsuit Filed Over Museum Death

A wrongful death lawsuit was filed this week by the estate of an 81-year-old man who died at the Jell-O Museum in Le Roy, New York, in 2010, according to court documents.

The suit was filed Monday in Rochester County by Sophia LaMont, the daughter of Frank P. LaMont Jr., whose scooter fell nearly 3 feet from a lift at the museum in October 2010, causing him to hit his head on the concrete floor. LaMont was pronounced dead later that day.

Defendants named in the lawsuit are the United States; the Le Roy Historical Society,the museum’s owner; The Safety and Access Co. Inc., which maintained the lift, and Ikeco Inc., the company that installed the lift.

The lawsuit alleges that LaMont’s death resulted from negligence of the Veterans Affairs employees who were supervising him and defective design and maintenance of the lift.

LaMont was a Marine Corps veteran who had been a VA hospice resident since August 2010.