Jury awards $860 million to family of woman who died in her apartment when construction crane collapsed storm June 2019 in Dallas.
KDFW verdict on global property developer Greystar $160M more than family requested ReportAttorney Jason Itkin of the law firm of Arnold & Itkin represented the parents of Kiersten Smith, 29, when a crane crashed into her apartment and killed her. The accident injured many others.
Greystar is believed to be responsible for the crane that collapsed at the former Elan City Lights apartment complex near the city centre. The jury considered whether Greystar or the crane company Bigge Crane and Rigging should have been punished more severely.
Itkin contended that Greystar was responsible to the operator, who worked more than 80 hours that week and failed to put the crane in weather vane mode despite a bad weather forecast. Taking this precaution allows the crane to rotate naturally with the wind, removing stress on the structure to prevent accidents.
Lawyers for Bigge Crane and Rigging echoed Itkin’s arguments, claiming the company entered into a contract that put both the crane and the crane operator in charge of Greystar, the outlet said.
Bigge was fined $26,000 by OSHA for the incident. Itkin also wants the company to pay $12,006 in punitive damages in memory of Smith, whose apartment number is 12006.
— Quinn Donoghue
