Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
last wk.

Family of Ironworker Awarded $23.5M Over UChicago Hospital Scaffold Collapse

Attorneys say systemic scaffold failures under moderate winds exposed structural weaknesses; other injured workers’ claims are still pending.

The UChicago Medicine construction site at 57th Street and Drexel Avenue in Chicago sits idle on June 7, 2024, a day after two workers fell from the scaffolding. David O'Donnell died at the scene. (Terrence Antonio James/Chicago Tribune)
Image
Image
Two ironworkers fell, one fatally, at a construction site in Chicago.

Overview

  • The collapse occurred on June 6, 2024, when a 44 mph gust caused a 140-foot scaffolding failure at the University of Chicago Hospital’s cancer center site, killing 26-year-old David O’Donnell.
  • Preliminary investigations found the scaffold, built to withstand winds up to 85 mph, suffered structural weaknesses, improper materials and inadequate connections at a critical corner.
  • Adjustable Forms Inc. and Turner Construction Company face ongoing lawsuits from ironworker Jeffrey Spyrka and nine other workers injured in the same collapse.
  • The $23.5 million settlement to O’Donnell’s estate resolves his family’s suit and spares them from protracted court battles, according to attorney Louis Anthony Cairo.
  • OSHA has joined Adjustable Forms and Turner Construction in a full investigation aimed at improving scaffolding safety on future projects.