Photo: Courtesy KOLR/KRBK
A settlement has been reached in a lawsuit from a fatal television broadcast tower collapse in Southwest Missouri. Missouri State University will not be forced to pay any of the $3.2 million dollars in the suit filed by the family of Steve Lemay, the man killed in the collapse, and two of his employees.
It’s been nearly three years since the tower collapsed in Fordland. According KOLR/KRBK, the tower was owned by Missouri State-operated PBS station KOZK. The Occupational Health and Safety Administration had absolved Missouri State from responsibility in its report issued October 2018. OHSA had instead placed the blame on two contractors, Steve Lemay, LLC, and Tower Consultant, Inc.
Missouri State general counsel and chief compliance officer Rachael Dockery said Lemay’s family and employees filed several lawsuits early last year, and the university’s property insurer also filed a subrogation claim. Subrogation means most insurance carriers can legally pursue a third party that caused an insurance loss to the insured. The property insurer was looking to be reimbursed. Several insurance companies were involved in the suit as well.
Dockery told the Missouri State Board of Governors going into a mediation meeting in February of last year it would not settle due to a large number of attorneys involved. She admitted to being wrong in the meeting.
During the recent board meeting, Dockery said the settlement will be paid for by liability insurance carriers and excess liability carriers for Steve Lemay, LLC, and Tower Consultants.
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