Families of NYC crane collapse victims awarded $48 million
A crane owner was ordered this week to pay $24 million to the families of two workers killed in a 2008 crane collapse in New York City, according to news reports. The award raised total damages in the case to more than $96 million.
A judge ruled that James F. Lomma -- who was acquitted of criminal charges in the accident – knew the crane was defective when he allowed it to be used by workers. The accident occurred when the crane separated from the tower and collapsed, killing crane operator Donald C. Leo and Ramadan Kurtaj, a construction worker on the street below. Leo was 30 years old, Kurtaj was 27.