Gray•Duffy obtains dismissal of crane company from serious personal injury lawsuit

August 2020

Overview

Gray•Duffy’s Redwood City office obtains a dismissal of Bragg Crane from serious personal injury lawsuit.

Discussion

Keen v. Level 10 Construction

Richard Williams, John Duffy and Kathryn Camerlengo teamed to defend Bragg Crane (Bragg Investment Company) in a serious personal injury action involving two plaintiffs. The plaintiffs were iron workers, injured during the partial collapse of a steel framed building under construction at the Facebook campus site in Menlo Park, California. Both sustained serious orthopedic injuries which will restrict and/or prevent them from working as iron workers in the future. Medical and non-economic damages for each plaintiff were in excess of $1 million, and wage loss and loss of future earning capacity numbers were in excess of $2 million.

Following numerous witness and person most qualified depositions from co-defendants Schuff Steel, Inc. and Level 10 Construction, as well as the primary engineering defendant Hassett Engineering, the plaintiffs developed a liability theory that the engineering specifications for the subject steel erection were deficient and that these deficiencies were the cause of the collapse of the cantilever section of the building that fell on the two plaintiffs.

Following extensive negotiations, Bragg Crane was given a voluntary dismissal by the two plaintiffs in exchange for a waiver of costs and attorney’s fees. The case ultimately settled against the engineering defendant only for an undisclosed sum.

Please Note: This article is necessarily general in nature and is not a substitute for legal advice with respect to any particular case. Readers should consult with an attorney before taking any action affecting their interests.