Jury awards $1.45M in Bellevue crane collapse case

Published 2:27 pm Thursday, May 5, 2011

SEATTLE — A Seattle jury has awarded $1.45 million to the operator of a crane who was injured when it collapsed in 2006 in Bellevue.

The King County Superior Court jury found that Seattle-based general contractor Lease Crutcher Lewis and Seattle engineering firm Magnusson Klemencic Associates were negligent and responsible for injuries suffered by Warren Yeakey.

The Seattle Times reports Yeakey is disappointed. He and his wife had sought $12 million for his injuries and economic losses.

Jurors had deliberated for about a week before reaching their decision Thursday in the monthlong civil trial.

The 210-foot construction crane crashed onto two buildings, killing one man in his apartment.

Investigators determined the collapse was caused by the flawed engineering design of the crane’s base.