FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Several questions remain unanswered following the deadly crane collapse Thursday in Fort Lauderdale.
Officials have said that the crane itself didn’t fail, but instead it was the platform holding equipment that fell onto the bridge below at Southeast 3rd Avenue.
At the center of the construction nightmare is KAST Construction LLC.
After Local 10 News’ calls and emails for comment went unanswered, we paid a visit to the KAST headquarters in West Palm Beach.
While their office was open, employees there remained tight lipped, even when pressed about what happened.
OSHA has opened up an investigation into Thursday’s collapse.
Local 10 News learned that there have been three OSHA inspections over the last year for KAST Construction.
One happened in Sarasota in February of 2023, where employees were exposed to a 129-foot fall hazard. The fine was ultimately $9,844.
In June of 2023 at a Tampa site, “each employee… was not protected from falling by the use of guardrails” and “employees were exposed to fall hazards of approximately 8 feet.” KAST was hit with a $15,625 fine.
And a few years ago, back in 2016, a construction worker was killed on a job site in West Palm Beach. KAST construction was the general contractor.
OSHA stepped in and determined the formwork table failed due to inadequate fastening and design, among other things. A grievous error was put in the findings.
Over the last few years, KAST has been hit with a number of lawsuits.
AT&T sued the company over damaged equipment, claiming in the lawsuit that, “During the excavation, KAST CONSTRUCTION LLC, or its agent, acted negligently and breached duties.”