Greystar Sued for Wrongful Death in Austin Construction Accident

A man was killed in a weather-related construction accident near the University of Texas at Austin in March, and now the victim’s family wants justice.

Michael Delgado, 29, died when a large piece of debris hit him while he was riding his bike past a construction site near the intersection of 24th and Rio Grande streets, where Greystar was developing an apartment high-rise. Delgado’s family is suing Gryeystar, claiming negligence at the site, KVUE reported.

The plaintiffs include Delgado’s wife Brittney Nova, his father Michael Croce and his mother Tanya Delgado. They allege that Greystar ignored the wind and weather advisory in place at the time of the incident, leading to the unsecured debris that killed Delgado. Their lawsuit called Greystar’s actions “grossly negligent.”

The lawsuit mentions the physical and mental pain and suffering, loss of fringe benefits, and emotional distress endured by the plaintiffs. It also claims the victim’s family is entitled to punitive or exemplary damages because of Greystar’s negligence. The lawsuit comes less than two months after a jury awarded $860 million to the family of a woman who was killed in a 2019 accident in which a crane collapsed during a storm in Dallas. Greystar was found liable in that case.

Jason Itkin, an attorney representing Delgado’s family, says Greystar continues to violate basic safety standards.

Greystar was “objectively aware of the extreme risk posed by the conditions which caused Plaintiffs’ damages but did nothing to rectify them,” the lawsuit states. Its “acts and omissions involved an extreme degree of risk considering the probability and magnitude of potential harm to plaintiffs and others. Defendants had actual, subjective awareness of the risk, and consciously disregarded such risk.”

The family and attorneys hope “to get answers from Greystar and make sure that Greystar takes steps to ensure this never happens again.”

The City of Austin has increased site monitoring and implemented multiple safety changes in response to the tragedy, the outlet reported.

—Quinn Donoghue