The family of a construction worker crushed to death by a falling air-conditioner has been awarded $640 million in damages.
David Loree, 56, was killed when a massive air handling unit tipped off a crane and fell 10ft on top of him at 1.59pm on September 22, 2021.
The father-of-two was working at the Texas A&M University-San Antonio College of Business and Library building for subcontractor Way Engineering.
His family sued TNT Cranes & Rigging, along with main contractor Byrne Construction Services and two other firms, claiming negligent worksite practices caused his death.
‘[Loree’s] death was not immediate. He bled to death while his coworkers watched him die slowly,’ the lawsuit read..
‘David Loree languished for almost an hour, suffering beyond description until he passed away later on the way to the hospital’ at 2.47pm.
A Harris County District Court jury in Houston ruled in favor of Loree’s family on Monday after a three-week trial and awarded $160 million in compensation.
Then on Tuesday, they awarded another $480 million in punitive damages after only about an hour of deliberation.
Loree’s wife Milena, 61, burst into tears when the amount was read out, and buried her face in the table while clutching one of her lawyers’ hands.
David Loree, 56, (pictured in the 1990s with his sons) was killed when a massive air handling unit tipped off a crane and fell 10ft on top of him at a construction site on September 22, 2021
Loree’s wife Milena (pictured together) burst into tears when the amount was read out, and buried her face in the table while clutching one of her lawyer’s hands
Her sons Cody, 34, and Zackary Loree, 37, who were seated behind her, kept their composure. Loree’s mother Mary, 78, was present for the hearing but not for the judgement.
Milena, Cody, Zackary, and Mary will each receive a roughly equal share of the payout.
TNT Crane will have to pay 68 per cent of the judgement, mechanical and electrical subcontractor Way Mechanical 27 per cent, and the others five per cent.
Tony Buzbee, the family’s primary lawyer, said on Monday that TNT Crane blamed Loree for his own death throughout the trial and took no responsibility, offering about $6.9 million to settle the case.
But the jury wholeheartedly disagreed.
‘The jury put 0% responsibility on David Loree and all on the corporate actors, with the lion’s share placed on TNT Crane,’ Buzbee said.
‘I am so glad for this family. Not because of the enormous damages awarded. But because David Loree was completely vindicated.
‘It is wrong to blame the victim who was killed. Life has value… I am very proud to speak for him and his family.’
Loree, his wife, and one of their sons in the 1990s
Buzbee, who is also the lawyer behind more than 100 sexual assault lawsuits against disgraced rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, said the case was of ‘enormous value’.
He said he was so motivated to ‘make an example of this corporate wrongdoer’ that he personally presented and cross-examined every witness.
Buzbee told the jury he was frustrated TNT Crane was still ‘arguing technicalities’ after already being found liable, instead of apologizing.
‘They’re trying to avoid justice, that’s what’s happening,’ he said in his closing address on Tuesday, asking for punitive damages.
The lawyer argued the only way to make the company change its practices was awarding massive punitive damages to Loree’s family.
‘Let’s make sure that they are sorry, the way you do that is… your message will be “your conduct was wrong your conduct will not be tolerated, period. You must change, figure it out”.
‘Because people were killed, someone was almost killed the day before!’
Buzbee encouraged the jury to ‘make an example’ of TNT Crane to deter it, and other construction companies, from worksite negligence.
‘This was a needless killing of a good man – and even after four weeks of this, you haven’t heard any remorse from them,’ he told the jury.
Buzbee unleased on the company after the jury awarded the enormous payout.
‘Will the family ever actually see $640 Million? Unlikely,’ he claimed.
Loree was working at the Texas A&M University-San Antonio College of Business and Library building (pictured the day after the accident) for subcontractor TNT Crane & Rigging
‘What they did see was every piece of evidence, and heard all of the testimony, explaining how David Loree, their husband, father and son, was brutally killed.
‘And they saw how this corporation was more interested in blaming the deceased or arguing technicalities rather than correcting systemic safety issues.
‘That jury collectively declared that David Loree was needlessly killed due to clear and convincing gross negligence.’
An Occupational Safety and Health Authority investigation completed on February 8, 2022, found Loree was ‘crushed by an air handling unit’.
Loree and his colleagues were moving three air handling units – the heart of a central air-conditioner weighing several tons – into the third floor of the unfinished building.
The first unit was moved successfully, but the second one ‘tipped over’ as it was raised into position.
‘The second unit was rigged on the ground and raised to the mechanical room,’ the report read, citing other workers as witnesses.
‘With the two [slings] on the back still on, a gust of wind supposedly picked the unit up and fell 10ft, crushing a worker.’
Loree suffered a partially severed arm and leg, along with horrific crush injuries, and was declared dead at 2.47pm.
His colleague Francisco Montelongo was rushed to hospital with body and head injuries, but survived.
The OSHA investigation did not issue any citations and found no safety or health violations during its inspection of the site in the hours after the accident.
Milena said that she ‘knew she could always count on him, whether it was his physical strength, fearless heart, trustworthiness or forgiving manner as a family man’
The lawsuit provided more information about the leadup to the accident, blaming a perfect storm of management incompetence and sloppy safety standards.
First, the crane operator who arrived at the worksite was ‘totally unqualified’ and so inexperienced an extra superintendent was called in to supervise.
The crane operator admitted to never even looking at the plan drawn up to lift the heavy load, and instead made up his own without telling anyone.
‘In fact, he admitted the math on the approved lift plan was entirely incorrect,’ the lawsuit read.
TNT Crane’s crew was also understaffed, and drafted in Loree and some of his colleagues to act as riggers and spotters.
But Loree and his Way Engineering coworkers were pipefitters, and had no training on how to do the job.
Wind was gusting at 45mph around the university, and even faster inside the unfinished building, and the lift was supposed to be called off if it hit 25-30mph.
However, TNT Crane pressed on despite its wind safety gauge being broken, and never told anyone about the defect or tried to determine the wind speed.
‘The wind was “rocking” the unit to the point that workers became concerned and were complaining that the lift should be called off,’ the lawsuit read.
Due to the pipefitters not knowing how to properly rig a load, two of the four cables holding the air handling unit came off, and it tipped over in the wind – dropping it on top of Loree.
Tony Buzbee (pictured with his wife), the family’s primary lawyer, unleashed on the ‘corporate wrongdoers’ after the verdict
Loree’s obituary praised his problem solving skills, which helped his career as a pipefitter in the construction industry.
‘He never gave up and was always a hard worker. If he could help you in any way, he was there for you,’ it read.
‘His technical skills made him great as a musician, playing guitar, also in his cooking and his BBQing skills.
‘David fondness for high performance engines was legendary among those who knew him, but it was his love for music, even if it was just listening to his stereo system, putting on his treasured vinyl records, tapes and CDs that gave him joy.’
Milena wrote that she ‘knew she could always count on him, whether it was his physical strength, fearless heart, trustworthiness or forgiving manner as a family man’.
‘He was everyone’s friend, the one you could always depend on when you were in need.’
