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GREENSBORO — The guardian for a worker who was injured by electricity at a Southside job site has sued the city of Greensboro, Duke Energy and several of the project’s contractors and developers.

In August 2005, Jose Vargas Morales, 32, suffered severe electrical burns while working at the Hobbs Building at 301 Martin Luther King Drive, part of the city-initiated Southside redevelopment project, according to court records.

The civil lawsuit, filed in Guilford County Superior Court, alleges that defendants’ negligence led to Morales being permanently disabled.

Both of Morales’ legs were amputated, and he is in a persistent vegetative state because of the accident, his attorney Mark McGrath said. The suit seeks compensation to pay for Morales’ care, which McGrath said could cost millions.

“This was a completely preventable tragedy,” McGrath said.

Greensboro was served with the lawsuit this week. City Attorney Terry Wood declined to comment until the city reviews the lengthy suit.

John Malone, attorney for the building contractor, Greensboro Contracting, said it was “a very unfortunate accident.”

“We feel that Greensboro Contracting or any of its employees didn’t do anything wrong,” Malone said.

The masonry company that employed Morales could not be reached this week.

Greensboro launched the Southside redevelopment in the mid-1990s. The city bought the land and later sold it to developers.

The development includes homes and businesses built close together and near the sidewalk.

State Department of Labor investigators determined that Morales was injured because his scaffolding was too close to the power lines in front of the Hobbs Building, court documents say.

Morales was standing on the top level of the scaffolding when he cut a strap off a pallet of bricks, according to the suit. The strap connected with the power lines and shocked Morales.

Earlier that summer, city inspectors had ordered workers to stop construction on a Southside building at 349 Martin Luther King Drive because it was too close to the power lines, the lawsuit states.

Days later, Morales was injured by the same power lines about two blocks away.

“No one bothered to even look into it,” McGrath said. “If anyone had walked 50 feet down the sidewalk, it would have been obvious there was a problem.”

City inspectors referred questions to the city legal department.

The contractor and Duke Energy had plans to bury the power lines but had not done so at the time of the accident, according to the lawsuit.

Duke Energy spokesman Andy Thompson said the company has a policy of not discussing pending litigation.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com