Couple Injured in Allston Facade Collapse Files Lawsuit

Sonya Bandouil and Alex Pankiewicz filed the lawsuit Monday against the Common Ground restaurant, its owners, and the property manager

A couple injured in a facade collapse in Boston's Allston neighborhood in November have filed a lawsuit.

Sonya Bandouil, 23, and Alex Pankiewicz, 25, filed the lawsuit Monday against the Common Ground restaurant, its owners, and the property manager.

Bandouil and Pankiewicz had been visiting the area and were walking along Harvard Avenue on Nov. 4, 2018, when they were struck by falling debris.

Bandouil, a classically-trained concert pianist and teacher, was trapped under the rubble. She required three weeks of hospitalization and two months of rehab for multiple fractures of the skull, spine, ribs, pelvis, foot, leg, collarbone and jaw. The injury to her right hand was so severe that her third finger had to be amputated.

Pankiewicz, who was also hurt, had worked with other pedestrians to help dig Bandouil out of the rubble.

The couple's lawsuit alleges serious negligence by the owners and managers of the building — accusing them of not properly inspecting the facade despite signs of weakness.

"This horrific building collapse onto a public sidewalk should never have happened," said the couple's attorney Anthony Tarricone. "Debris from the collapse shows that the concrete parapet hanging over the sidewalk was in a seriously deteriorated condition for years. It was just a matter of time before it would crumble and collapse, with tons of large concrete blocks falling onto the public sidewalk along the length of the building—unfortunately—while Sonya and Alex were there."

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