JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The family of the St. Augustine man killed in a crane collapse two years ago at the Talleyrand port is filing a second lawsuit.
Crane operator Anthony Roberts' family won a $2.5 million lawsuit against the crane company Draper Enterprises. But Draper can't pay up because it had no insurance.
Roberts' estate is now suing Draper's insurance provider.
OSHA's investigation found the accident happened because Draper Enterprises jerry-rigged the load, failed to use a tag line for safety, and misjudged the weight of the load by almost 16 tons, according to attorney Steve Pajcic.
The Port Authority required Draper to provide a certificate of insurance coverage before it could begin work. It turned out that Draper had no worker's compensation coverage. The lawsuit filed today is against Draper's New Hampshire insurance agent who issued the certificate of coverage.
"Anthony Roberts' death would have never happened if Acorn Insurance had not issued a false certificate of insurance because, without that certificate, Draper would never have been allowed to do this dangerous work at the Port Authority," said Steve Pajcic, attorney for Roberts' widow.
