Shocking New Report: Fort Worth Arena Knew Deadly Gate Was Defective

Inspectors found that a main entry gate had failed safety codes but the glamorous new $540 million Dickies Arena – magnified from our law office’s windows – still opened in November. But one month later, a man who was on the overnight cleaning crew tragically died as a result of allowing that gate to remain in its dangerous condition. We described this horrific event in a previous blog.

In case you missed this story, on December 7th in the early morning hours, Juan Carlos Julian, Jr., 24, was locked out of the building. But even though safety regulations prevented someone from being able to reach through a locked gate, he stuck his arm through the iron bars to hit the nearby button to let himself inside. He was crushed to death after his arm was trapped.

To prevent this from happening, safety measures require that the open-close switch must be more than 10 feet away from the gate’s moving arm. They also require gates with gaps of more than two and one fourth inches have screened wire mesh. Fort Worth adopted this national building code.

But a city official admitted that the arena made a deal to allow it to open on time. The gate would remain as long as it was kept locked in an open position. That obviously didn’t happen.

A lawsuit has been filed in Dallas County by the man’s family against the company that runs the arena, Trail Drive Management Corp., and its two building contractors, The Beck Group and TDIndustries.

This was an accident just waiting to happen.

An expert hired by the family and the Star Telegram have concluded that the gate lacked at least 14 safety features including senors,motion detection devices, and emergency stops.

Further, the arena had not posted warning signs in Spanish, although it had in French. What?!

In addition, a nearby gate also blocked pedestrian exits. The building code allows this only when there was an employee who could control the gates. And there must be an alternative way to avoid using the motorized gate in the first place.

Catastrophes like this one happen frequently when new buildings are constructed or renovated.

The contractors are under strict deadlines to make sure the building opens on time and are heavily penalized when they are behind schedule. Events are planned in advance and tickets are sold. There is a rush to get the building opened quickly.

As a result, safety violations are overlooked or swept under the table.

We can help you

Countless working men and women lose their lives in job accidents each year in preventable incidents like this one. Negligence and safety violations on job sites can be rampant.

When workers die, their surviving relatives must turn to the courts for compensation. They should hire a wrongful death lawyer in Texas immediately.

Berenson Injury Law has represented injured Texans and the families of those who lost their lives for almost 40 years.

Please call us at 1-885-801-8585 or click here for more information.

 

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