The family of a man killed doing maintenance in a Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare elevator in February has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the company he worked for and several of its employees.

A 105-page lawsuit filed by the family of Robert Myers in Leon County Circuit Court Thursday makes 10 negligence claims against Otis Elevator Company, its vice president and his supervisors.

Myers’ death was ruled accidental.

The suit claims Otis maintains a practice that allows its service workers to navigate around federal safety standards for locking out an elevator making it inoperable. The suit also claims that several supervisors concealed Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations issued against Otis in relation to the “15-minute rule.”

The practice, described in the lawsuit as an unwritten workplace policy, allows maintenance workers to enter an elevator shaft for up to 15 minutes without locking it out.

Elevator worker's death ruled accidental

Several employees have been killed because of the policy, according to the lawsuit.

Myers, 60, was killed when he was crushed by an elevator Feb. 17 inside TMH’s Professional Office Building.

Surveillance video show him entering and leaving the elevator shaft in the early morning hours. At about 6 a.m., a family using the elevator reported they were stuck after which Myers’ body was found.

Otis has not filed a response to the lawsuit but issued a statement regarding Myers’ death in March.

"Our deepest sympathies remain with the family of Bob Myers, a valued and respected Otis employee who was involved in a fatal incident at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital," wrote Jodi Hynes, communications manager. "Bob had worked in the industry since 1999. Otis was fortunate to have him on our team, and he is greatly missed by his friends and colleagues."

Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.