The wife of a man killed in Kelowna, B.C.’s 2021 crane collapse has filed a lawsuit, claiming the construction company was negligent.
Helen Margaret Furuya’s husband Brad Zawislak, 43, was one of the five people killed when a crane being dismantled from the Mission Group’s Brooklyn tower collapsed on July 12.
While the four others who died were employed by Stemmer Construction, the company tasked with taking down the crane, Furuya’s husband, Zawislak, was working in an office next door, at 1461 St. Paul Street, Protech Consulting.
“The said accident was caused in whole or in part by the negligence of the defendants, the particulars of which are yet to be known, pending the results of both the WorkSafeBC and RCMP investigations,” reads the claim.
When Zawisiak was killed, however, Furuya’s claim indicates she was deprived of “love, guidance, care, services, training and financial support.”
In turn, she’s seeking financial compensation of an undisclosed value from Stemmer Construction for herself and also four John Does, a Jane Doe and two companies referred to as only ABC. A response to the suit has not yet been filed.
An online fundraiser that raised more than $320,000 for Zawislak’s family described him as an awesome, amazing, fun-loving character.
“He was the beloved husband of Helen, and proud father of Savanah and Zoe,” the fundraiser said. “He was a kind, giving and committed family man. He was a friend to so so many.”
Furuya’s is the first claim filed by a family member of someone who died in the crane collapse.
Mounties and WorkSafeBC launched parallel investigations but have released little information to the public since.
The WorkSafeBC investigation into a fatal Kelowna crane collapse was completed but results, the organization announced, will not be released to the public due to the ongoing criminal investigation by the RCMP.
It had concluded its regulatory investigation looking at the cause of the July 12, 2021 collapse, though after consulting with the RCMP it was holding its findings back from the public eye, awaiting the outcome of the RCMP’s investigation.
“The criminal investigation is independent and separate from the regulatory investigation conducted by WorkSafeBC, and focuses only on determining if any criminal elements are present,” WorkSafeBC and the RCMP said in a shared statement.
“Among some of the complexities of this case, police are working through thousands of pieces of evidence and seized documentation, and consulting with our partners nationally,” RCMP said, noting no other information will be made available.
Labour unions have been critical of this decision, noting that the information within the report is relevant to the health and safety of crane workers.