A trial is set to start in Houston over the accidental death of construction worker Jose Dario Suarez who drowned in 2014 when the boom lift he was tied off to fell into the Brazos River during work on a pedestrian bridge for Baylor University's new football stadium.
Lawyers for Suarez's estate are arguing that he died as a result of negligence by eight different construction and equipment companies working or involved with the project. The Suarez family is seeking more than $1 million in damagers.
The trial is also expected to cast a spotlight on whether construction workers should be 100% tied off, especially when working over water. Attorneys for the contractors have argued 100% tie off was necessary to prevent the workers from falling onto the barge the boom lift was working from and other surfaces.
(more on the Houston construction accident trial and the 100% tie off debate...)
