Matthew Ammon, a patent attorney for Microsoft, was killed when a tower crane at work on the Tower 333 project collapsed into his apartment. Washington state’s Department of Labor and Industries investigated the accident, and issued citations against Lease Crutcher Lewis, the project’s general contractor, and Magnusson Klemencic Associates, the engineers who planned the base of the crane.
In a statement released by personal injury lawyers Peterson Young Putra, Ammon’s mother Kathleen Gaberson said, “Despite the state’s investigation and report, the companies that caused our son’s death are refusing to acknowledge their responsibility. Because they will not agree to accept responsibility, we had no choice but to file a lawsuit.”
Ammon’s father, Larry Ammon, added, “Our son was a totally innocent neighbour of a construction project. Matt did nothing wrong. He, and frankly all Bellevue residents, had the right to expect that the companies responsible for the crane would make sure it was safe. Not only did those companies fail in that responsibility, they now are also failing to own up to their negligence. This just compounds the tragic loss of our only child.”
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer quotes Lease Crutcher Lewis chief executive Bill Lewis as saying, “The companies involved in the crane event acknowledge that one or more of them are responsible and are analysing the failure to determine which companies are. We will continue to work toward an expedient resolution of all claims, including that of the Ammon estate.”
