A boy was fatally injured and several of his family members hurt, when a weighty sign at the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport suddenly crashed down on them, according to The Kansas City Star. The boy's parents have filed a wrongful death lawsuit naming the designers for the sign's faulty specifications, and the contractor, who was aware of the problem, for failing to do anything about it.
L.B., 10, of Overland Park, died due to his injuries following the March 22 accident. Three of his family members were also injured.
The family, just returning from a spring break vacation, stood in front of the arrival and departure sign fell forward. Other family members, that were not injured, stood by and watched helplessly – the sign weighed between 300 and 400 pounds.
The lawsuit was filed by attorney Tim Dollar on behalf of L.B. and his family, which includes L.B.'s parents and his four surviving siblings. Damages have yet to be specified and the suit was filed in Jefferson County, Ala., Circuit Court.
During the accident L.B.'s mother, H.B., sustained a cracked pelvis, head injuries, two ankle fractures and a tibia fracture. L.B.'s siblings sustained various injuries, including a fractured leg, a closed head injury and facial injuries.
Nine defendants in all are named in the suit and include the sign's designers, contractors and construction companies. The airport authority is not included in the suit, nor is the city of Birmingham.
There are four arrival and departure cabinets installed at the airport. Three of the four cabinets were secured to a wall, ceiling or floor. However, the fourth cabinet, the one that fell on the family, was left freestanding.
The suit states that the front panels were increased in size and the material changed to a heavier wood from the original design – which increased its weight. Other changes included a decrease in the cabinet base and the addition of a footrest.
According to the lawsuit, "All defendants knew or should have known that the flawed design, the improper modifications and the failure to secure or anchor the freestanding (cabinets) would result in instability and a foreseeable risk of fatal danger to the general public."
The suit alleges that the defendants knew that travelers would have to stand near the heavy cabinet to read the necessary flight information it contained.
The defendants are names as Brasfield & Gorrie General Contractors, BLOC Global Services Group, KPS Group and Fish Construction.
This past April both Brasfield & Gorrie and BLOC issued statements that pronounced that they did not design the faulty signs – they had only installed them.
Fish Construction also issued the same type of statement. They stated that they only built the cabinets – but had nothing to do with the design, installation or inspection. However, according to Fish Construction, they had voiced their concerns over the sign's safety.
According to a KPS spokeswoman, the "intent in the drawings and specifications was always that this piece of cabinet work and all other components of the airport be safe and secure."
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