Lawsuit: Visit to state Capitol left Calif. woman with hearing loss

Claim cites noise from worker cutting through desk in lobby

SANTA FE — A California woman says a state contractor was cutting or drilling through a metal desktop in the state Capitol lobby when she visited with her husband two years ago, and the noise caused severe pain and hearing loss that she still experiences today.

A lawsuit filed by Amy Eber says the hearing damage has impaired her work with raptor birds as a longtime volunteer at a wildlife refuge.

“The screeches by the birds leads to pain in her ears while she is working with them,” the suit says.

The suit against state government and APIC Solutions, an Albuquerque company that was working under contract with the state, and other defendants seeks compensatory damages for pain and suffering and medical expenses that have arisen from the injury.

According to the lawsuit filed in state District Court on April 12, an APIC Solutions employee apparently was installing IT equipment in the Roundhouse lobby in April 2016 and was using a tool to cut through a metal desktop. Eber immediately felt pain in her ears, the suit states.

“The tool, making contact with the metal, caused a noise that was so unbearable that Plaintiff and husband fled to another part of the building,” the lawsuit states.

Eber sought treatment six days later after returning to California and was diagnosed with hearing loss in her left ear.

Eber claims the injury has diminished her ability to work with birds of prey at the wildlife refuge.

“She is unable to wear ear protection while working with the raptors because she needs to hear to ensure her safety, her colleagues (sic) safety, and the bird’s safety,” the suit says.

Eber also experiences a sharp or stabbing pain in her ears from noises coming from a hair dryer or vacuum and must now wear ear protection in rooms with loud equipment or appliances, according to the suit.

It says the noise level in the lobby was “well above” what the Occupational Safety and Health Administration set as a permissible noise level.

Spokespersons for the state Environment Department, which oversees the state OSHA bureau, and the state General Services Department, which runs state buildings, did not respond to requests for comment.

Santa Fe city government also is listed as a defendant, although the lawsuit doesn’t state a specific reason.