A Texas parish has settled a negligence lawsuit filed against two construction companies that damaged their downtown San Antonio parish.
On 19 September 2019 a windstorm with gusts topping 60 mph blew scaffolding erected on the exterior of the 16-storey AT&T building on East Martin Street onto St Mark’s Episcopal Church in San Antonio. The metal scaffolding damaged the exterior brick work, pierced the roof, crushed the rooftop air conditioning unit, and caused water to pour through the four story parish building damaging classrooms, music rooms, offices and meeting areas.
Last month the Bexar County Court hearing the case agreed to dismiss the litigation after the parties announced a settlement had been reached to conclude the litigation. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration in January 2020 announced it had fined one of the contractors, United Restoration, $12,145 for safety violations. OSHA found that “scaffold wall tie-ins were altered while performing restoration activities, exposing employees to fall hazards.” The agency also said that United Restoration violated federal law because the scaffold “was not erected, moved, dismantled, or altered only under the supervision and direction of a competent person qualified in scaffold erection, moving, dismantling or alteration.”
