A wrongful death suit has been filed in the case of a boy killed at an Alabama airport. The 10-year-old boy was killed when an airport sign fell down and struck him and three of his family members. The wrongful death suit raised by his family alleges that the designers and contractors involved with the construction of the sign were aware that it was unstable. The sign itself was an arrival and departure sign placed in a new terminal and weighed somewhere between 300 and 400 pounds.
The mother of the boy, also struck by the sign, had a fractured pelvis, two ankle fractures, a tibia fracture and head injuries. The boy’s two younger siblings had a fractured leg, a head injury and facial injuries among them. The lawsuit is targeted at the contractors and designers of the sign itself, but neither the airport nor the city is listed. The lawsuit alleges that multiple changes in the scope of the project, such as using heavier materials and reducing the base of the sign, had all weakened the structure in a way that was foreseeable.
The suit also alleges that the designers and contractors had discussions regarding the fact that the sign may be unstable and that they took action to secure signs other than the one that fell on the boy and his family.
If the contractors and designers were aware that this sign was unstable, they may be found to have been negligent. The family of the boy has enlisted the aid of an attorney to file a wrongful death suit against them and to seek compensation. A personal injury attorney may be able to construct a case that shows that the contractors and designers knew or should have known the dangers that this sign presented and that the boy’s death was therefore preventable.
Source: The Kansas City Star, “Family of Overland Park boy killed at Alabama airport files lawsuit “, Matt Campbell, June 05, 2013
