Scaffolding Company To Blame For Deadly Collapse

Chrissie Cole

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Paramount Scaffold Inc. is to blame for the fatal collapse of a temporary walkway cover in downtown San Diego that killed one man and injured at least 14 others in August 2008.

The cover collapsed under the weight of overloaded scaffolding materials, reports The San Diego Union-Tribune.

The company has been fined $10,120 for two state safety regulation violations.

The walkway cover, made mostly of wood, was intended to shield pedestrians from any falling debris as they walked by the construction site located at Imperial Avenue at 15 Street.

Among the dozen pedestrians and transients trapped below the collapsed cover was Tyrone Allen, 49. He was made a quadriplegic and died earlier this month from injuries he suffered in the collapse.

Allen's widow and three adult children previously filed a negligence lawsuit against the property owner, the general contractor on the project and Paramount Scaffold. The family plans to amend the lawsuit in the near future to claim wrongful death, according to the Union-Tribune.