BRANFORD — An employee of a local trash hauling company has filed a notice of intent to sue the town, claiming he was stuck with a contaminated needle while removing garbage behind Branford fire headquarters.

Sean Kelly of National Carting Co. of Branford, was injured while removing the trash Jan. 30, according to the notice, which is on file at Town Hall.

Fire headquarters, at 45 N. Main St., also houses local emergency medical services.

"Sean Kelly sustained injuries to his person as a result of the negligence of unknown employees who improperly disposed of hypodermic needles in the trash receptacle," the notice states. "As a result the claimant was stuck with a contaminated needle."

The town and the unknown town employees allegedly responsible for putting the needle in the receptacle will be named as defendants in the lawsuit, according to the notice.

Kelly’s lawyer, James Shea of North Branford, said the full scope of his client’s injuries remain unknown, pending results of testing for potential infection.

"The claimant sustained a puncture wound, the introduction of contamination to his blood stream, possible severe infection and grave anxiety, terror and distress," Shea said in the notice.

Fire Chief Peter Buonome declined to comment on the notice, citing potential litigation.

The Fire Department has a standard operating procedure that outlines the proper disposal of hypodermic needles, he said. The needles are placed in specially designed containers, and the containers are placed in marked boxes. A Middletown-based company, Stericycle Inc., then removes the medical waste, Buonome said.