Moran v. Hunter Modular Construction Company, Inc.
| Decision Date | 29 July 2021 |
| Docket Number | 889-2020 |
| Parties | JOHN THOMAS MORAN, SR., et al. v. HUNTER MODULAR CONSTRUCTION COMPANY, INC., et al. |
| Court | Court of Special Appeals of Maryland |
Circuit Court for Montgomery County Case No. 466413V
Gould Ripken, Eyler, Deborah S., (Senior Judge, Specially Assigned), JJ.
This case comes before us following a tragic construction site accident that resulted in the death of John Moran Jr. ("Moran Jr."). Moran Jr. died when nylon straps used to suspend a modular unit severed, causing the unit to fall and trapping him between the foundation wall and the unit. Moran Jr.'s father ("Appellant"), acting as the personal representative for his son's estate filed a negligence and wrongful death action against several defendants. Following a hearing on Motions for Summary Judgment filed by three of the defendants, the Circuit Court for Montgomery County entered judgment against Appellant. Appellant appeals the judgment in favor of one defendant Hunter Construction Inc. ("Hunter"), contending the circuit court erred in its proximate cause and duty analyses. Because we discern no error by the circuit court, we shall affirm.
The Heights School, located in Potomac Maryland, hired contractors to construct a new music building on its campus. The building was to be constructed using prefabricated modular structures that would be lowered and set into a concrete foundation using a crane, and then welded together. Wilmot Modular ("Wilmot") was the general contractor on site, and it contracted with subcontractors Maxim Crane Works ("Maxim") and Hunter to assist in the construction. Wilmot designated Norman Tuer ("Tuer") as the site superintendent.
Under Wilmot's contract with Maxim, Maxim was to assist with the placement of the units. Specifically, the contract defined the scope of Maxim's work as: "rig and set 8 piece modular-heaviest pick is 25,000 lbs. at planned 70[ft.]." The charges that Maxim would bill Wilmot for included the cost to counterweight load in and load out, the hourly cost of the rigger, and the cost of the rigging where "Maxim will supply two spreader bars and cable/shackle rigging." The contract also included a 3D Lift Plan for the setting of the 8-piece modular building. Maxim employed Moran Jr. as a rigger for the project, John Linder ("Linder") as the crane operator, and Meng Zhen He ("He") as an additional rigger. The workers on site understood Moran Jr. to be the lead rigger for the project.[1]
Under Wilmot's contract with Hunter, Hunter was to assist with the installation of the modular buildings. The contract provided that such installation included "[m]obilization," "[b]lock/level 4Plex on foundation," "[w]eld units in place to foundation," "[s]et 4 frames with floor, no walls or ceiling-level and weld only," "[w]eld or bolt of frames," and "[r]emove axels & tires." The contract did not include rigging, lifting, or setting the modular units. The Hunter team consisted of, among others, James Lee Hunter ("J. Hunter") and Dustin Hunter (D. Hunter"), who understood the scope of their work to include moving the units from the staging area to the load zone, assisting Maxim with rigging, assisting with final placement of the buildings after said buildings had been brought over, and performing additional duties to align and complete the project.
On the morning of the accident, Tuer, the site superintendent, conducted two safety meetings. Although the record is not clear on exactly who was present at each meeting, Tuer indicated that the first safety meeting was solely Hunter personnel, and the second meeting included Maxim personnel and several members of the Hunter team. At the first meeting, bringing the units down to the load zone, avoiding pedestrians, preventing damage to the units, and checking equipment were discussed. In that first meeting, there was also a discussion addressing placement of the units as well as pinch points and open excavations. No specifics of how Maxim intended to rig the lift were discussed at the first meeting.
At the second safety meeting-led by the Crane Operator and Moran Jr.-the specifics of the lift were discussed. These discussions included whether to use wire rope or nylon "web" slings.[2] Moran Jr., as Maxim's "rigging man," decided the lifting configuration, and he decided that web slings would be the preferred lifting device. Moran Jr. discussed the plan to use the nylon straps with Linder, who agreed, provided they also use softeners. Maxim-with the help of Hunter personnel-placed softeners between the slings and the sharp edges of the unit to prevent severing of the slings.[3] Additionally, the spreader beam Maxim intended to use was too short, which caused the front sling to slide to a different position on the unit, increasing the likelihood of the slings severing. To combat this problem, Moran Jr. installed a ratchet strap underneath the unit to secure the slings in place during the lift.
Many of the workers on site, including J. Hunter and D. Hunter, were concerned about the rigging plan and expressed such reservations to Maxim. J. Hunter noticed that because the spreader beam was not long enough, the nylon slings would not be vertical to the unit, but more angular and consequently more "in jeopardy of being cut" by the unit.
After seeing this equipment brought by Maxim, J. Hunter expressed his reservations to the Maxim team, including Moran Jr., about the use of nylon straps, the length of the spreader beam, and the use of the ratchet strap. D. Hunter was also concerned with the use of the nylon slings and the ratchet strap. He brought his concerns to the attention of Maxim personnel, and specifically Moran Jr. Moran Jr. indicated that the team was operating under standard procedure and that the slings were rated to the proper loads to sustain the weight, which he verified by checking the tags and labels. Despite others also raising safety concerns about the web slings and ratchet strap, the Maxim team commenced operations as planned.
Linder, the crane operator, lifted the unit about four to five feet in the air. He was following Moran Jr.'s hand signals to guide him toward the foundation wall, and they transported the building about 200-300 feet without any issues when he got the "all stop" signal from Moran Jr. Moran Jr. indicated that the ratchet strap was going to interfere with landing the frame onto the wall. After discussion with D. Hunter about setting the unit down to remove the straps, Moran Jr. signaled Linder to swing the crane to the right. Within ten to fifteen seconds of Moran Jr. giving the stop signal, the rigging failed, causing the unit to fall.[4]
A number of the workers who witnessed the incident stated that the rigging failed because Moran Jr. had released the ratchet strap, which in turn caused the web slings to be severed. One stated that he observed Moran Jr. reach his arm approximately eighteen inches under the unit "trying to disconnect something" moments before the strap broke. Another rigger also witnessed Moran Jr. reach under the unit to release the ratchet strap, although he stated he saw only the first unsuccessful attempt. The worker standing closest to Moran Jr. said he saw him reach under the unit, and while he did not know Moran Jr. was going to try and release the ratchet strap, he thought Moran Jr. was trying to stop the building. Tuer also witnessed Moran Jr. reach his hand under the unit. Tuer, as well as others on the job site, yelled at Moran Jr. to get his hand out from under the unit, which fell within seconds of Moran Jr. reaching under the unit. As the building fell, Moran Jr. was pulled towards the unit. Moran Jr.'s hard-hat was crushed by the front beam, and his body was ultimately trapped between the unit and the foundation wall.
The forensics expert hired by Appellant opined that, based on the photographs taken on the scene and the autopsy report, Moran Jr. was struck in the back by the modular unit with enough force to propel him into the foundation wall. He further stated that Moran Jr.'s injuries were inconsistent with him having been pulled down or sucked into or under the load because of the absence of crush injuries and hemorrhaging. The expert also concluded that the pattern of injuries was consistent with Moran Jr. having his back toward the unit. He finally noted that although it did not seem likely, he could not rule out as a possibility that Moran Jr.'s hand was under the unit at the time it fell, nor could he reach a conclusion as to whether Moran Jr. had been standing or bending over.
Additional experts, including Appellant's expert on materials science, concluded that the rigging failed because the sling was cut, not because it was overloaded. Hunter's expert opined that "the failure mechanism was the release of the ratchet strap," which was what caused the sling to be cut. The only way to release the ratchet strap while the strap was under load was by applying "some physical interaction," such as reaching underneath the unit. Hunter's expert concluded that once the physical interaction was applied and the ratchet strap was released, 1,100 lbs. of tension that the ratchet strap was restraining caused the straps to slide along the unit edge. The straps severed as they slid, causing the unit to fall.
Appellant acting on behalf of Moran Jr.'s estate, filed a lawsuit against numerous defendants, including Hunter. As to Hunter, Appellant alleged negligence and wrongful death. With respect to the negligence claim, Appellant contended that Hunter was negligent in failing to implement a number of safety procedures including procedures directly related to the use of the crane and rigging, as well as failing to stop the lift. Hunter filed a ...
To continue reading
Request your trial