by Shawna Ryan
Medill News Service
January 18, 2006
The 7-year-old son of a construction worker who was crushed to death earlier this month by 5,000 pound concrete slabs at the De La Salle Institute is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
In a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Circuit Court the child, Colton Ryan, claims that he is entitled to compensation for the pain and suffering his father endured for the thirty minutes he was conscious after the concrete slabs fell. Kevin Ryan was later pronounced dead in the January 7 accident.
The lawsuit also claims that Colton "will continue to suffer a loss of society and companionship" with his father as a result of the negligence exercised by the general contractors M & M Bertucci Builders & Developers Corporation.
Colton currently resides with his mother in Fort Collins, Colorado. She had been divorced from Kevin Ryan at the time of his death.
Efforts to reach M & M Bertucci Builders & Developers Corporation, of 3349 S. Parnell Ave, were unsuccessful.
Kevin Ryan, 37, was a mason working with Secor Bricklayers, a subcontractor on the site to build an addition to the De La Salle Institute's female campus at 1040 W. 32nd Place.
M & M Bertucci employees negligently placed the 5,000 pound slabs on a row of pillars without making sure they were secured, said Mark McNabola, the Ryan family's lawyer. When a forklift nearby accidentally "nudged" one of the pillars, some of the unsecured slabs fell and crushed Ryan underneath.
Ryan was pronounced dead at John Stroger Hospital in Cook County.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the construction site.
Jim Martineck, assistant area director of the OSHA for Calumet City, the area in charge of the investigation, said that the law requires an inquiry to be completed within six months, he anticipated this one would only take several months.
"If we identify that any regulations were violated, we will issue a citation that can go to one or several contractors on multi employer work sites like this," Martineck said.
"M & M were negligent and the general contractor is responsible for all safety aspects on the site," McNabola said. "They're captain of the ship so ultimately the obligation falls on them."
Brad Mitchell, the public affairs officer at the U.S. Labor Department, said that while no comment can be made as OSHA is still undergoing its investigation, there is no inspection history for M & M Bertucci Builders & Developers.
McNabola explained why it was important to file the lawsuit on behalf of the victim's young son.
"Ultimately what it comes down to is the things that a 7-year-old will miss without a father, let alone when he is 10, 16, 21 years old," McNabola said. "It's what he'll miss for the rest of his life."
© 1997 -- 2005 Medill Chicago News Service — Northwestern University
A Chicago publication of the Medill School of Journalism
Article source
