Man sues church after losing leg when crucifix he was cleaning fell on him

A Newburgh, New York, man tragically lost his leg after a crucifix he prayed to while his wife battled ovarian cancer fell on top of him. David Jimenez prayed for Delia Jimenez's health every day at the large marble statue outside of the Church of St. Patrick in Newburgh.



When Delia got better in 2010, David offered to clean the religious statue as a way to thank the church. But when he started scrubbing the crucifix on Memorial Day of that year, it toppled over and crushed his right leg. The 45-year-old was rushed to Westchester Medical Center, where doctors decided that his leg was so badly injured it required amputation, thereby leaving him unable to work.

Fellow churchgoers collected food and $7,000 dollars to give to Jimenez and his family in the wake of the accident. However, Kevin Kitson, Jimenez's lawyer, says that the archdiocese's insurance company has not been as generous, prompting his client to slap the church with a $3 million lawsuit. Kitson argues that the church's priest was negligent in allowing Jimenez to go near the crucifix.


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He alleges that the 600-pound statue was held in place by a single "useless" screw in its base. "It supported no anchoring system," he said. The church has since removed the crucifix from its property and has transferred it to another parish. Jimenez's suit will be heard in court in the next several weeks.