Back in October, a Miami Dade college parking garage collapse claimed the lives of four construction workers, and injured several more. The construction accident is allegedly the result of an improperly installed column in addition to a crane accident just days prior.
Nearly four floors of the $24 million, 5-story parking garage had been completed when the whole thing came down like a stack of pancakes. The crash reportedly shook the ground at the nearby campus, but thankfully no students were harmed in the accident. Two workers were pronounced dead at the scene, another passed later after both of his legs had been amputated, and the fourth was discovered under the debris days after the incident.
Two days before the deadly construction accident, a crane struck a column. Initially, the Ajax Building Corporation president told media that the column passed inspection afterwards, but an attorney for the family of one of the deceased workers has come out saying that the crane accident and an unfinished column near the one that was struck are to blame for the deaths of those workers and the construction injuries of 11 others.
“There was an accident to the column next to it – B-3 didn’t have any cement. B-2 was hit by a crane. It shifted the entire building. So when it shifts the building, the column without any cement eventually collapses like a house of cards and kills four men and injures many other people,” said the family’s attorney.
Construction Companies Must Protect Their Workers
Construction companies that cut corners, or do not conduct proper inspections put their employees and independent contractors at risk every day. This reckless behavior cannot be tolerated for a moment if we want to keep construction workers safe.
A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed on behalf of the victims’ families against the company, and hopefully they will be able to find some sense of closure.