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Dive brief:
- The families of two workers who died in one Idaho hangar collapse They filed a wrongful death lawsuit on January 31, seeking damages against the construction crew, alleging that the builders “recklessly” rushed construction.
- Mariano Coc Och, 32, and Mario Sontay Tsi, 24, were killed when a hangar under construction at an airfield near the Boise airport collapsed on top of them. Craig Durrant, 59, co-founder of Idaho-based Meridian general contractor Big D Builders, also died in the collapse. Nine others were injured.
- The lawsuit, filed July 9 in U.S. District Court in Idaho, alleged that because the construction team faced penalties from the owner of the Jackson Jet project if it did not complete the hangar in a timely manner, the defendants conspired to quickly terminate the project with insufficient security. and effective materials.
Diving knowledge:
Along with Big D Builders, the lawsuit names local companies Steel Building Systems, Inland Crane and Speck Steel as defendants.
MBCI, the Houston-based precast steel supplier for the project that was not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, did not provide cross-reinforcing pieces, the suit says. As a result, the project team made their own pivoting cross brace, which did not have Boise City Council approval.
The difference between the parts used compared to the MBCI parts “is huge and monumental,” the lawsuit said; typical parts are made from high quality alloys that are machine welded in licensed facilities.
“In contrast, the parts fabricated from Big D, SBS and Speck Steel were not properly sized to fit the MBCI precast structure, were fabricated in unauthorized welding labs, were rushed, poorly welded and poorly and are marked in a different color,” the lawsuit alleged.
Witnesses reported that the hangar’s cables snapped and the braces had begun to snap on January 30, the day before the collapse. The lawsuit alleged that it was a result of rushed construction.
Och and Tsi had also been pulled from different construction projects and told to report to the hangar on Jan. 26, according to the lawsuit. They were told they would be working overtime from January 29 to 31, because the hangar shell had to be finished by the day of the final collapse.
The lawsuit does not contain the amount of damages sought by the plaintiffs.
Response from companies
Inland Crane had four cranes on the job site the day of the sinking, and the hydraulic arm of one was caught in the wreck.
“Inland Crane extends its deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of this tragic incident,” the company said in a statement about the lawsuit shared with Construction Dive. “While we mourn the loss of our partners, friends and colleagues, all the evidence shows that Inland Crane and our employees are not to blame for this tragedy. We are confident that the court process will exonerate Inland Crane and our employees “.
Construction Dive attempted to reach the other defendants for comment on the lawsuit. Big D Builders declined to comment on the litigation, but had issued a statement in the days after the collapse.
“Words cannot describe our pain and sadness,” the February statement said. “Behind our company name is a small family business, grown in Idaho, and we grieve deeply for our community.”
Steel Building Systems and Speck Steel do not have publicly available contact information, and Construction Dive could not be reached.
