Contractor, L&I reach settlement in crane collapse

A settlement has been reached between the state and the contracting firm that supervised construction where a tower crane collapsed in Bellevue two years ago, killing an attorney in a nearby building.

The settlement was negotiated between Washington state Department of Labor & Industries and Lease Crutcher Lewis, a general-contracting firm that supervised the site where the crane collapsed in November 2006.

The collapse killed Matthew Ammon, 31, an attorney for Microsoft who was in his top-floor apartment and was struck by the crane.

After an investigation, L&I imposed a $9,200 penalty on Lease Crutcher Lewis, which the company appealed.

Under the settlement made public Friday, Lease Crutcher Lewis has agreed to pay the $9,200 penalty and drop further appeals. L&I also faulted the company for installing a sign on the crane that exceeded size recommendations. That violation was affirmed in the settlement, but L&I acknowledges the sign had nothing to do with the collapse.

The L&I investigation concluded the 210-foot crane fell because of a flawed engineering design of its mounting base.

A second penalty of $5,600 was imposed by L&I on Magnusson Klemencic Associates, the Seattle engineering firm that designed the crane. That penalty also was appealed and has not been settled.

The collapse also generated several civil lawsuits, including one brought by Ammon's family, as well as others filed by companies operating in buildings damaged by the collapse. Most of those lawsuits were consolidated into a single legal action in April and are scheduled for trial next year.