As workers were trying to “move part of a structure,” it gave way and collapsed on a man, 64, according to a coroner’s report.
The fatal accident was far from us in New York City; it took place in Pope County, Texas.
Workers were apparently trying to move an awning, a media report said.
“All we know is they were attempting to move part of a structure and that they had cut the legs and were attempting to move it and it collapsed before they could get it secure,” the coroner said.
In an unrelated incident, a woman in Miami Beach, Florida, said she and her husband were sitting on their couch in their apartment when she heard what sounded like bowling balls coming through her ceiling.
Moments later, their furniture began to crash, the wall cracked, and the floor tore apart from the wall.
“All of a sudden we started hearing these snaps! Boom, boom, boom!” she told a newspaper reporter.
Their entertainment center toppled onto the couch where they’d just been sitting.
She and her husband grabbed their baby and some diapers and fled the apartment as the floor collapsed.
Residents of the 20-unit apartment complex ran outside. Thankfully, everyone escaped uninjured.
After engineers inspected the building, they determined that the entire structure was unsafe.
It turns out that the building has had previous reports of structural damage.
Our law firm handles premises liability cases similar to the ones you have read about in this blog post. If you would like more information, please visit our New York City premises liability page.
Source: Courier News, “Buttermilk man killed in awning collapse,” Aug. 14, 2012