Three people who were injured and the families of two people killed after a crane collapsed on a Seattle construction site in 2019, will receive $112 million in a settlement, David Beninger, a lawyer for one of the victims told ABC News Tuesday.
The crane fell from the construction site which included a Google office building in the South Lake Union neighbourhood in April 2019 as it was being dismantled, killing four people.
Lawsuits filed by families of two of the victims killed in the collapse and three who were injured were consolidated into one case in the King County Superior Court, involving multiple firms involved in the construction site where the crane collapsed.
In the Monday verdict, a jury found four of the construction companies negligent, but only three of the companies’ negligence resulted in the death of Sarah Wong and Alan Justad, and the injury of Brittany Cadelina, Ali Edriss and Sally Beaven.
While the jury found GLY Construction, the company that leased the crane, negligent, it was not found responsible for the deaths and injuries.
The other companies named in the lawsuit are Morrow Equipment, which owned and leased the crane for the construction project and provided expertise for the building and dismantling of the crane; Northwest Tower Crane Service, which was in charge of setting up and dismantling the crane; and Omega Morgan, a mobile crane subcontractor.
The jury attributed 45% of the negligence to Northwest Tower Crane, 30% to Omega Morgan and 25% to Morrow Equipment.
The jury awarded the victims more than $150 million in damages, but Morrow Equipment Company did not participate in the trial as it is in discussions regarding other agreements with the victims, according to Beninger.
Wong’s estate, her parents and her sibling are to receive a combined $54.15 million. Nineteen-year-old Wong, a student at Seattle Pacific University, was a passenger in a car when parts of the crane struck it causing her fatal injuries.
Justad’s estate and his three daughters will receive a combined $39.15 million. Seventy-one-year-old Justad was in his car when parts of the tower cranes landed on top of the vehicle.
Cadelina and Edriss will each receive $9.2 million and Beaven will receive $975,000, according to Beninger and amounts awarded by the jury.
“Northwest Tower Crane Service respects the verdict of the jury and thanks to them for their service in this trial. Northwest Tower Crane changed its practices immediately after this tragic accident and continues to strive to make safety its top priority,” an attorney for Northwest Tower Crane Services said to ABC News in a statement, declining to comment any further.
Attorneys for the Wongs, Cadelina and Omega did not immediately respond to ABC News’ request for comment.
