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'It's about time' Jury awards $99.2 million in Miller Park accident
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A jury ordered two companies to pay $99.2 million to the widows of three ironworkers killed when a crane collapsed at the construction site of Milwaukee's new baseball stadium, Miller Park. All but $157,500 of Friday's award must be paid by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of America. The company was held responsible, along with Lampson International Ltd., for the July 1999 accident that killed William DeGrave, Jerome Starr and Jeffrey Wischer. "It's about time," Wischer's widow, Patricia Wischer, said after the verdict as she cried and hugged her attorney. "I knew they would be confident in finding Mitsubishi was deeply in error." Mitsubishi was building the stadium's retractable roof, using a crane called Big Blue and a crew leased from Lampson. The ironworkers were guiding a 450-ton roof piece into place from a safety basket held aloft by another crane when Big Blue smashed them to the ground. The jury reached its verdict after nearly three days of deliberations. Each widow will receive $1.7 million for pain and suffering. The verdict also includes $94 million in punitive damages, to be paid entirely by Mitsubishi Robert Habush, a lawyer for the widows, argued that the ironworkers died because of an "outrageous" decision to perform the roof lift in winds gusting to 26 mph. Mitsubishi attorney John Bell said the company should not have to pay any punitive damages for what was an accident. He also said that the crane was not properly assembled and that a soft spot in the ground caused it to lean. Mitsubishi and Lampson have filed claims blaming each other for the accident. The accident delayed completion of the Brewers' new stadium by one year and caused $100 million in damage. Miller Park is to open in April.
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