Jury awards crane operator $1.45 million in deadly Bellevue collapse

A King County jury Thursday awarded a former crane operator $1.45 million for injuries he suffered in the deadly collapse of a construction crane in Bellevue 4 ½ years ago.

Jurors found Seattle-based general contractor Lease Crutcher Lewis and Seattle engineering firm Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA) were negligent, and were responsible for the injuries suffered by Warren Yeakey in the collapse.

The verdict, which placed most of the blame on MKA, marked the first time a jury has found negligence in the collapse that left one man dead. Other litigation stemming from the accident was settled out of court without findings of fault.

Yeakey, 39, was awarded $1.15 million in economic damages as well as $300,000 in noneconomic damages, including pain and suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life. In addition, the jury awarded his wife, Kristina Yeakey, $55,000 in noneconomic damages.

The total was far less than the more than $12 million the couple had sought. The Yeakeys, who have four children and live in Lewis County, said afterward they were disappointed with the amount.

"These damages are not nearly what they should be," a visibly upset Kristina Yeakey said.

Warren Yeakey, who has been found 100 percent disabled by the state Department of Labor & Industries, said he was pleased the jury found negligence. But the award will not nearly cover lost wages and medical bills, and will be counted against his disability pension, reducing those payments, he said.

Kristina Yeakey said she can't work because she has to care for her husband.

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

Yeakey had claimed in his lawsuit against the two firms that he still struggles with pain and is unable to work as a result of the November 2006 collapse.

Lease Crutcher Lewis was the general contractor overseeing the entire operation. MKA was in charge of the structural engineering of the crane.

Yeakey was operating the 210-foot crane, which was being used to construct the Tower 333 building in downtown Bellevue. It came crashing down on two buildings: Plaza 305 and the Pinnacle BellCentre, where resident Matthew Ammon was killed when the crane struck his apartment.

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

After an investigation, the state fined Lease Crutcher Lewis and MKA for improper design and construction of the crane. The citation against MKA was later dismissed on appeal.

State lawmakers passed tougher standards for crane safety after the collapse.

During the trial, attorneys for Lease Crutcher Lewis and MKA blamed each other's company for the collapse, although Lease Crutcher Lewis acknowledged mistakes.

As part of their verdict, jurors found MKA 70 percent at fault and Lease Crutcher Lewis 30 percent at fault.

During the trial, Mark Dynan, who represented Lease Crutcher Lewis, questioned Yeakey's injuries, saying Yeakey had returned to light-duty status at work after the collapse.

Dynan called the jury's decision a "fair verdict," but said he would have liked MKA to have been held more at fault.

Jon Magnusson, MKA's chairman and chief executive, said in a written statement on the verdict that MKA's own internal investigation immediately after the collapse showed there was joint responsibility by Lease Crutcher Lewis and MKA.

"Due to some unusual business and insurance circumstances, MKA did not mount a significant defense at the trial," he said.

"A battle of expert witnesses was not needed. MKA called no witnesses and only entered a transcript from the design engineer as evidence. If MKA had called its experts to testify, the percent of fault allocation by the jury would most likely have swung the other way. The crane base was properly designed; the underlying issue in this tragic incident was a divergence between the design assumptions and the way it was actually installed."

Matt Renda, a Tacoma attorney who represented the Yeakey family, told jurors that that shortly after the crane was installed, workers heard a loud noise from the crane. When inspectors couldn't see a problem, the construction continued.

Renda said a closer inspection should have been conducted.

The family of Ammon, a 31-year-old Microsoft lawyer, reached a financial settlement with Lease Crutcher Lewis and MKA in 2009. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

Seattle Times news researcher Miyoko Wolf contributed to this report, which includes information from Times archives.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3303 or smiletich@seattletimes.com