Distressing Details of Kelowna Crane Collapse Revealed in New Lawsuits

Five more lawsuits have been filed against a developer and construction company over the crane collapse that killed five people in Kelowna, BC, two years ago.

The people behind the lawsuits range from a victim’s co-workers to a nearby business owner, but all claim the crane crashed on July 12, 2021 because the Mission Group and Stemmer Construction were negligent.

“The injuries, loss and damage have caused pain and suffering to the plaintiff and will continue to do so permanently [and] loss of joy of life,” said one of the claims filed in the BC Supreme Court.

The number of lawsuits against the construction company now stands at six, as new accusers join a woman who lost her husband in a bid to seek civil damages as they await answers from ongoing criminal and job inquiries.

Neither the developer nor the construction company had responded to any of the claims by mid-July.

Colleague describes search for victim

The crane collapsed at the Brooklyn residential tower construction site on St. Paul Street in downtown Kelowna around 11:30 a.m. and crashed into a neighboring office tower.

Construction workers Cailen Vilness and Jared Zook were among those killed in the collapse, as were brothers Eric and Patrick Stemmer. The brothers worked for the family business Stemmer Construction, which had a contract to operate the crane.

Brad Zawislak, 43, was buried under rubble when the crane crashed into the office where he worked for Protech Consulting. His body was found two days later.

One of the lawsuits this week came from a colleague who was sitting “a short distance” from Zawislak when the crane fell.

Shelby Miller said the crane missed him, but falling debris left him cut and “considerable” bruises.

“[Miller] was left in a state of severe shock as he witnessed his colleague being crushed by the collapsing crane and almost hit himself,” the claim said.

Another colleague who tried to save Zawislak is also suing.

Grant Maddock said he looked out the window from his office when he saw three workers running to safety before the crane came down in a “massive crash”.

“He ran down the hall to his office and found the crane operator’s cage where one of his employees, Brad Zawislak, had been working at his desk,” the claim said.

“[Maddock] panicked and searched to find Brad but couldn’t see him anywhere.”

According to the lawsuit, Maddock then realized the crane operator was still in the cage and saved the “badly injured” man by finding towels to stop his bleeding. He then searched for Zawislak again, but could not find him.

“[Maddock] later learned that Brad had died when he was crushed by the crane operator’s cage, which collapsed on Brad and pushed him through the floor into the downstairs office,” the claim says.

Lawyer on ground floor describes aftermath

In his own claim this week, attorney Chris Fraser said he escaped the rubble after nearly being hit by the crane in his office directly below Zawislak’s.

According to the claim, he went back a few days later to get some paperwork from his desk and found what he later discovered to be Zawislak’s shoe on his desk.

“He could also smell the horrible smell of what he thought was the dead person from the office above his office,” he said.

Miller, Maddock and Fraser said they had post-traumatic stress disorder after the collapse.

A woman who ran a beauty salon in the same office building filed the third lawsuit, claiming she was forced to close her shop and work from home because the building had become unsafe due to the collapse. In a fifth claim, the Carmel Housing Society said it had to make emergency renovations to the apartment building behind the office tower.

RCMP has said the crane was in the process of being dismantled when something “catastrophic” happened around 10:45 am

Mounties and WorkSafeBC have launched parallel investigations, but have released little information to the public.

In a joint update this spring, RCMP said investigators were still determining whether crimes had been committed.

WorkSafeBC said the investigation is complete, but the agency has not made its findings public under an agreement with police.