HOUSTON – Houston is still reeling after last week’s deadly windstorm, which claimed at least 7 lives including a cement worker after a crane collapsed on him as well as another coworker. KPRC 2 learned Monday the surviving worker filed a lawsuit against the companies involved.
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Attorneys for Crosby Ware said their client suffered serious injuries when the crane collapsed on the cement truck and slammed his body. He survived, but not his 72-year-old coworker. Despite his miraculous survival, Ware’s attorneys say he has “traumatic injuries to his head, neck, and back.”
All these injuries, Ware’s attorneys add, could have been prevented if the companies had taken proper precautions, since “the entire region had ample time to prepare.” That’s because, his attorneys claim, Ware was “required” to come to work to deliver cement for an ongoing project despite the dangerous storm last Thursday.
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One of the leading attorneys claimed the actions to maintain business as usual in the face of a devastating weather event showed the companies valued profit over people.
“These companies demonstrated a brazen disregard for human life by making a conscious decision to value profit over safety during a severe storm the entire region was warned about,” Kevin Haynes, partner at Kherkher Garcia, LLP said “It is beyond despicable that the defendants took no actions to provide a safe work environment with catastrophic results for Mr. Ware and his family, whose lives have been altered forever due to the gross negligence of these parties.
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“The reckless and careless actions of these companies took place in weather conditions that require an immediate halt to crane operations, but these companies decided the storm wasn’t dangerous enough to temporarily pause their pursuit of profits,” Haynes added. “Mr. Ware will require extensive recovery and medical treatment thanks to the preventable actions and inactions of these companies. We are determined to aggressively fight for our client and ensure that all wrongdoers are held accountable and recover maximum damages.”