Worker Knocked Off Ladder by Shock Dies of Injuries

The sign worker who was at the Windsor-Hights Shopping Center on June 5 has died of the injuries he sustained from the current and the 30-foot fall.

Melvin Cardonick, 63, of Philadelphia, Pa., died at 2:30 a.m. this morning. He is survived by many family members, including his wife, Cindy; his brother, Steven; and several children and grandchildren.

Cindy Cardonick said Wednesday her husband never left the hospital after that shock, which it was later discovered burned not only his hands but also his colon.

“The guy that was with him said he saw two or three flashes, and he was yelling, ‘Mel, are you all right?’ And then [Mel] fell 35 feet to the ground,” she said. At the hospital, Capital Health Regional Medical Center in Freehold, Ms. Cardonick said doctors conducted emergency surgery to repair what damage they could.

“He seemed to be doing better, though he was so much [equipment] it was unbelievable.”

She said she checked on him twice every day and made sure he had no hidden breaks in his bones. But it wasn’t until later that doctors found Melvin Cardonick’s colon had been burned, Ms. Cardonick said.

“They did a scan and found there was something wrong there with his colon, and when they opened him up again they found that the colon had gotten burned from the shock and it had let the toxins into his bloodstream. So they tried everything but the toxins had gotten into the bloodstream too much and he passed away. They couldn't save him,” she said.”

Ms. Cardonick said she was confused, because police told her the circuit breakers were turned on and she knew he always turned him off in his 49 years on the job.

“He’s been doing this since he was 14 years old,” she said. “The family business has been in business for almost 90 years, and he always, always turns off the juice on the job.”

That business, Atlas Signs, used to be named Ste-Mel Signs after Melvin and his brother, Steven, the latter said.

Rabbi Steven Cardonick, of the Clermont, Fla.-based Synagogue of Light, described his brother as a hard worker who doted on his children and was an involved member of the community.

“He was just a driven person, that would be one way to say it, even as a child, and he just always pretty much working, working, working although he really enjoyed being a grandfather,” he said.

“He regularly had what they call guys’, or boys’ night out, and he went to the movies with his grandson Matthew. He really fussed over his kids and grandkids, and when it came to weddings and bar mitzvahs he made really big, enormous parties He'd go all-out.”

Rabbi Cardonick said his brother was also very involved in charities and in his Philadelphia synagogue, where he raised money for projects like a nursery and a computer room.

The rabbi said he also worked in the family sign company when he was younger and had been shocked himself.

“From what I’ve heard from other relatives, my brother had gotten other shocks. It’s just a risky thing, risky work,” he said.

“People don't realize there are live wires in there and it’s a very dangerous situation,” he added.

A spokeswoman from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Public Affairs said the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration opened an investigation into the case June 7, and has six months from that date in which to come to a determination.

East Windsor police said they are no longer involved in the incident and have no plans to file charges.

Ms. Cardonick said Wednesday she had not yet decided whether to pursue legal action against the shopping center. A message seeking comment from property manager John Schmidt of Metro Commercial Real Estate was not returned by the time this article was posted.

Funeral arrangements are under the care of Goldsteins' Rosenberg's Raphael Sackss' Southhampton, Pa. funeral home.