Lawsuit filed over deadly East Vancouver bakery roof collapse

A Vancouver autobody shop has launched a lawsuit over a roof collapse last summer that left one man dead.

Ben Sotelo was working at Gizella Pastry on Lougheed Highway when thousands of pounds of rubble broke through the roof on July 14, 2022, crushing him.

The collapse occurred while a contractor was using a Bobcat to conduct repairs on a rooftop parking lot.

2:21 Family of worker killed in East Van rooftop collapse seeks answers

The collapse seriously damaged the bakery and Bimmer Haus, the adjacent auto repair shop.

In a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court on April 28, Bimmer Haus claims negligence on the part of the bakery, the roof repair contractor CentiMark Ltd. and the Bobcat operator, named as John Doe, led to the collapse.

The suit alleges that the Bobcat operator piled nearly 200 tons of dirt and soil on one side of the roof, resulting in its failure.

Bimmer Haus claims that Gizellla Pastry failed to conduct the necessary engineering studies to ensure the roof could withstand the strain, failed to hire a competent contractor and failed to supervise the work.

It alleges CentiMark failed to make a proper plan on how to manage the soil, failed to determine how much weight the roof could handle, and failed to supervise the Bobcat operator or to direct him to spread the soil’s weight out to balance the load.

Finally, it alleges negligence on the part of the Bobcat operator, who it claims didn’t take proper precautions when moving the equipment or the soil.

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The company claims the collapse resulted in the business being “damaged or destroyed,” along with numerous customers vehicles that were inside and under repair at the time.

“The collapse of the roof also caused the plaintiff’s business to be shut down resulting in a loss of income to the plaintiff and a loss of the plaintiff’s goodwill which the plaintiff had had built up over many years,” it alleges.

The defendants have yet to file a response to the lawsuit.

Sotelo had just turned 40 when he was killed in the collapse. Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services said at the time that 90 people were working in the bakery at the time of the collapse, and that emergency crews rescued eight other people from the rubble.

Investigations by the Vancouver Police Department and WorkSafeBC into the collapse are ongoing.

None of the claims have been proven in court.