DENTON COUNTY, Texas — On Jan. 25, 2024, Maria Alvarado became a widow. She had just married her husband, 29-year-old Jesús Gustavo Pérez Vázquez, three months prior.
Vázquez died after an industrial accident while working on the water tower in Providence Village, Texas. Now, Alvarado is mounting a wrongful death lawsuit against her late husband's employer.
In a lawsuit filed on Thursday, Alvarado and Vázquez's family are seeking over $1 million in damages from the three businesses involved, Acadia Services, Garver, and Inframark, and the project's superintendent, Alejandro Perez-Anzua. The lawsuit claims all of the listed defendants were grossly negligent, leading to Vázquez's death.
Crews with Acadia, Vázquez's employer, were contracted to connect a new water pipeline to their elevated tower in Providence Village
According to the lawsuit, the workers were working in a nine-foot-deep excavation. The lawsuit claims Perez-Anzua knew the water line the crew was working on was pressurized and still instructed Vázquez and another worker to enter the excavation. The lawsuit states that when Vázquez and the other worker were at the bottom of the excavation, thousands of gallons of water rapidly filled the hole, causing a "violent whirlpool" that drowned Vázquez. The other worker was able to make it out and survived.
Attached to the lawsuit is a statement signed by a licensed engineer that claims conditions on the work site were "unreasonably dangerous."
In response, Garver LLC said in a statement that they "take these allegations very seriously and are committed to cooperating fully with the legal process."
"We were saddened to hear about the death of Jesús Gustavo Pérez Vázquez in Providence Village earlier this year," Garver said. "We were recently made aware that we were one of three companies named in a wrongful death lawsuit. While we cannot speak to ongoing litigation, we take these allegations seriously and are committed to cooperating fully with the legal process. We are dedicated to upholding the highest standards of safety and integrity in all our operations."
Inframark LLC declined to provide a detailed statement, citing the ongoing litigation, but offered condolences to Vázquez's family.
"In light of the ongoing litigation and the sensitive nature of this matter, we are unable to provide a detailed statement related to the unfortunate death of Mr. Jesús Pérez Vázquez at this time, other than to extend our condolences to the family and friends affected by this event and to affirm that Inframark will cooperate fully with the legal process as it unfolds," Inframark said.
Alvarado spoke to WFAA in January, claiming the family had little contact with her husband's employer following the incident. Vázquez had only been working with Acadia since May 2023.
The incident caused massive depressurization in the water supply, leading Providence Village to issue a boil water advisory for four days.
