A measure of closure was reached on Friday for the family of Angel Garcia, who was tragically killed in an accident while working on the demolition process of Kyle Field at Texas A&M back in 2013. News broke on Wednesday that a jury awarded Garcia’s mother and two children $53 million after finding against the defendants in a negligence lawsuit.
Kyle Field’s renovation turned tragic early on in the process, with demolition worker Angel Garcia tragically dying following a section of concrete falling on his equipment and Garcia being flung four stories to his death.
Jurors found that proper safety measures were not in place at the time of the accident and held the management company 75 percent liable and the demolition company Garcia was working for 25 percent liable.
“The verdict means everything for my clients,” said Houston attorney Jason A. Gibson, who represented Garcia’s mother, Josephina Garcia, and his two children. “They were happy and sad at the same time yesterday; they really didn’t know what to think. I’m still processing it myself.”
According to the ESPN report, Lindamood, the demolition company had already settled all claims against it.
The heart of the case appears to center around payments that were to be received should the project get completed before the start of the 2015 season. Via the Dallas Morning News:
Gibson argued that Manhattan-Vaughn failed to take proper safety procedures because of the pressure it felt to finish the project before A&M’s first home game in the fall of 2015. A liquidation provision in its contract with A&M said that if the renovation was not finished on time, Manhattan-Vaughn would have to pay $1.5 million per game, Gibson said.
“They had people working 24/7 around the clock. I think they felt panicked and rushed,” Gibson said. “They cut corners and as a result, safety was nonexistent and it allowed for [Garcia’s death] to happen.”
When Garcia’s family will see any of this money is unknown, as it appears lawyers for the management company, Manhattan-Vaughn JVP, is set to appeal the case.
[h/t ESPN.com]
