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Stemmer alleges crane in Kelowna collapse had a “dangerous defect”

Stemmer Construction and Enterprises filed a lawsuit Tuesday against three divisions of the Liebherr Corporation, alleging that the crane that collapsed in downtown Kelowna, B.C. during dismantling contained a “dangerous defect.”

The lawsuit contains no details of the defect and comes a day before the two-year anniversary of the collapse and statute of limitations for filing a civil lawsuit. At least five other lawsuits from those impacted by the collapse were also filed this week, just before the deadline. One of those lawsuits also names Liebherr as a defendant alongside Stemmer, while the others have focused on Stemmer and lead developer Mission Group.

WorkSafeBC is withholding its report into the cause of the crane collapse in an effort to not compromise the criminal negligence investigation still in the hands of police. The lawsuit’s allegations have been untested in court. As an international company, Liebherr has 49 days to files a response to the claims.

(Castanet)