Suit Alleges Faulty Design in Missouri Bridge Collapse
By: Kendrick Calfee
Source: The Kansas City Star (TNS)
Years after a bridge collapsed and killed a construction worker in the Kansas City area, three men are now suing Clay County and two engineering companies for damages, court records show.
On Oct. 26, 2022, Connor R. Ernst, 22, of California, Missouri, died when a bridge under construction at NE 148th Street collapsed, burying him and several other workers in concrete.
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Kaden Bax, Colton Wells and Braden Birdsong were seriously injured when the bridge collapsed. They are now seeking compensation for serious injury and lasting mental health effects, according to three lawsuits filed in Clay County Circuit Court.
Their respective suits, filed May 1, claim engineers were negligent in their design of temporary structural supports known as falsework, and that improper inspections of the falsework directly led to the bridge collapse.
The suits also claim Clay County, the land owner on the project, was negligent in allowing dangerous work conditions to exist.
“It was foreseeable to (engineers on the project) that failure of the falsework during the concrete pour could and would cause serious bodily injury to workers on the project, including death,” the lawsuits claim.
The bridge project aimed to replace a dilapidated wood bridge about 27 miles northeast of Kansas City, in unincorporated Clay County. The two-lane bridge had been closed since 2016 and construction began in 2021.
Clay County hired WSP USA Inc. for construction inspection services on the project. Along with the county, the suits name WSP and Crockett Engineering Consultants, LLC, as defendants.
Bax, Wells and Birdsong worked for Lehman Construction Company, which hired Crockett Engineering to design the temporary structural support, according to the lawsuit.
The suit alleges Crockett Engineering produced incomplete and inadequate structural support designs which failed to meet industry standards. It failed to ensure the falsework could withstand and support the weight of concrete, which led to the collapse, the suits claim.
Tasked with inspecting the project, WSP allegedly failed to identify or report the falsework’s deficiencies, the lawsuit claims.
As of May 2, court records do not show an attorney listed for the engineering companies.
Attorneys for Clay County did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Tim Van Ronzelen, who represents Bax, Wells and Birdsong in their respective cases, said the suits were filed separately because they sought different damages.
“Each of these plaintiffs suffered individual injuries which are different from each other so they are filed separately,” Ronzelen said in an email. “The allegations of negligence against the defendants are the same.”
Van Ronzelen also represented the family of Ernst in the aftermath of his death from the bridge collapse. The family’s case was resolved in a confidential settlement, he said.
Construction workers injured
According to his suit, Bax was standing on the bridge when the falsework collapsed, sending him plummeting to the bottom of the creek where debris fell on top of him. He was buried up to his waist in wet concrete, he said in the suit.
When Bax broke free from the concrete, he immediately started searching for his friends, the suit says, and was part of the group who found Ernst drowned in the wet concrete.
Among other injuries, Bax suffered a knee sprain, bruises, cuts and concrete burns in the fall. He continues to suffer post-traumatic stress and anxiety, the lawsuit claims.
When Wells fell, he was held completely immobile for 30 minutes by the tons of wet concrete surrounding him, his suit says. He was barely able to breathe and only his face was not submerged, the lawsuit says. Rescue workers found him covered by broken plywood.
Wells suffered cuts, bruises, concrete burns and concrete poisoning, the suit says. Ernst drowned in the wet concrete directly below where Wells was trapped, the suit says. Wells says he continues to suffer post-traumatic stress and anxiety.
Birdsong was buried up to his neck in wet concrete for thirty minutes, his suit says. He was immobile and had to continue to scream so his co-workers and rescue personnel could find him.
Among other injuries, he suffered concrete poisoning and burns. He continues to suffer post-traumatic stress and anxiety from his experience, the suit says.
The three men are each seeking compensation for their injuries and emotional distress after the collapse. They each requested a jury trial, court records show.
Previous safety violations
Lehman Construction was fined for safety violations in projects before the bridge collapse in October 2022, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration records.
OSHA cited the company in 2017 with three serious violations of general safety and having ring buoys and a skiff available for emergencies. The company abated the violations and paid a fine of $9,507, according to the OSHA data.
The company was also cited in 2019 with two violations pertaining to having a way for workers to get out of trench excavations and taking appropriate precautions to protect employees working in trenches where water is accumulating.
The company abated the violations and paid a fine of $8,619, according to the OSHA data. One of the violations was later reduced to an “other-than-serious” violation.
As of May 2, no court events have yet been scheduled in the construction worker’s lawsuits, according to online court records.
Previous reporting by The Star’s Robert A. Cronkleton and Jenna Thompson contributed.
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