Man narrowly missed in Kelowna crane collapse files lawsuit

Warning: This story contains details some readers may find disturbing.

On the eve of the second anniversary of the crane collapse that killed five people in downtown Kelowna in 2021, a man who narrowly avoided being struck by the crane has filed a lawsuit against its operator and manufacturer.

In a claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver on Tuesday, Shelby Austin Miller alleges negligence by the defendants caused the incident, which led to him suffering severe bruising, lacerations, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and sleep disruption.

He's seeking an unspecified amount of compensation for general and special damages.

The defendants are Stemmer Construction (the Salmon Arm-based company responsible for operating the crane), Liebherr-Canada Ltd. and its German and Swiss parent companies (which designed and manufactured the crane).

The lawsuit also names four "John Doe" defendants and one "Jane Doe" (who were responsible for managing the construction site) and two unknown companies responsible for implementing and enforcing safety procedures on the site.

None of the allegations in Miller's lawsuit have been proven, and none of the defendants have filed a response to Miller's claim.

PLAINTIFF SAW CO-WORKER CRUSHED

Miller's lawsuit indicates he was working in his office at 1461 St. Paul St. when the tower crane next door collapsed on July 12, 2021.

"The crane struck the plaintiff's co-worker Brad Zawislak and narrowly missed striking the plaintiff," the court filing reads.

"When the crane fell into the plaintiff's office, the plaintiff was seated a short distance away from Mr. Zawislak and the plaintiff watched as the ceiling and crane collapsed directly onto his co-worker."

Zawislak was one of five people who died in the incident. The others have been identified as Cailen Vilness, Patrick Stemmer, Eric Stemmer and Jared Zook.

According to his lawsuit, Miller was showered with debris and hit with multiple falling objects as the crane came down. He was also left "in a state of severe shock" by the incident, eventually leaving the building with the help of another co-worker.

AT LEAST SIX LAWSUITS FILED

Miller is one of several people who have filed lawsuits related to the crane collapse in the years since it happened.

Castanet News reports five other, similar cases have been filed, including one brought forward by Zawislak's widow. 

While Miller's court filing alleges that the defendants committed "criminal acts or gross negligence" that caused the incident, it notes that "the particulars" of those allegations "are yet to be known."

That's because an RCMP investigation into the crane collapse remains ongoing.

WorkSafeBC has completed its separate, parallel investigation on the matter, but its findings have not been made public because of the open RCMP file.

The two agencies issued a joint statement on their investigations in May. In that statement, Kelowna RCMP said they expected their work on the case to continue "for an extended period," and stressed that the work has been "extensive and complex."