Widow sues construction company over husband's death in B.C. crane collapse

The widow of an office worker who was killed in a crane collapse in downtown Kelowna, B.C., nearly two years ago has filed a lawsuit claiming the construction company's negligence led to her husband's death.

Helen Furuya lost her husband, Brad Zawislak, when the steel crane crashed into his office building on July 12, 2021.

"As a result of the aforementioned accident, Brad Zawislak was killed, whereby his wife was deprived of his love, guidance, care, services, training and financial support," read a statement of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Wednesday.

Five people were killed in the incident, which happened on the construction site of the Brooklyn at Bernard Block condo tower.

The lawsuit is the first claim from the victims' families as they wait for answers from ongoing criminal and workplace investigations. 

Crane crashed into office as victim worked

The claim said Zawislak, 43, was working as a senior technologist for Protech Consulting when he died. The civil engineering firm's office is next door to the construction zone.

Zawislak was buried by rubble when the crane smashed into his building. A specialized search-and-rescue team recovered his body nearly two days later.

"With a personality larger than life, Brad perfectly embodied all the traits that Protech strives to uphold in everything we do.  His friendly, hardworking, do-it-all mentality is irreplaceable," the firm said on its website.

"Brad had an inspiring ability to balance his work with his family life and constantly left everyone he met with a motivation to be a better person. Brad will always be remembered and will always be a part of the Protech Team."

At the time, RCMP said the crane was in the process of being dismantled when something "catastrophic" happened around 10:45 a.m.

Mounties and WorkSafeBC launched parallel investigations but have released little information to the public since.

In the joint update this spring, Mounties said investigators are still determining whether any crimes were committed.

A statement said officers are working through "thousands of pieces of evidence" and could not provide any more information "to protect the integrity" of the investigation.

WorkSafeBC said its investigation is complete, but the agency has not publicly released its findings under an agreement with police.

Construction workers Cailen Vilness and Jared Zook were among those killed in the collapse, as were brothers Eric and Patrick Stemmer. The brothers worked for the family business, Stemmer Construction, which had a contract to operate the crane.

Stemmer Construction is the only defendant listed by name in Furuya's lawsuit.

The company has not filed a response in court.