Advance Cast Stone Found Negligent And Must Pay $38.9M For Jared Kellner's 13.5T Concrete Slab Crushing Death

Jared Kellner

A Milwaukee County jury decided that Advance Cast Stone must pay $38.5M for its negligence and blame for a 13.5 ton concrete slab that broke off from a side of the O'Donnell parking structure killing Jared Kellner.

By H. Nelson Goodson

November 21, 2013

Milw., WI - On Thursday,  a Milwaukee County jury awarded $6.8M to the Jared Kellner estate for the tragic death in June 2010. Dawn Kellner, Jared's mother was awarded $500,000 for pain and suffering. An additional $15M was awarded to the plaintiffs for punitive damages.
Jared Kellner, 15, of Greenfield was walking out of the O'Donnell parking structure with a friend, Eric Wosinski, 15, and his friend's mother, Amy Wosinski, 36, who were all heading to Summerfest when a concrete slab broke off the side of the structure and fell on top of Kellner killing him. 

Wosinski, now 18, who suffered a foot injury and his mother Amy, now 39, who lost a leg in the incident were awarded over $11.4M in the civil lawsuit case.

In 2010, a 30-foot concrete sheet of slab at the East exit from O'Donnell Park parking structure collapse and killed Kellner who was crushed and injured, Amy Wosinski, 36, and Eric Wosinski, 15, her son of East Troy. 

A concrete sheet of slab made by ACS weighing 27,000 pounds (13.5 tons) fell when its bolts or rods holding it in place to the side of the second story level snapped due to rust.

Milwaukee County will also received $6M for loss revenue from Advance Cast Stone (ACS) of Random Lake, but the jury found that the County was 2% at fault in Kellner's death. 

After a day and a half of deliberations, the jury found ACS was negligent for the faulty 13.5 ton panel structure, which was being held with some steel rods from the panel to the structure's side and the rods had rusted out, including some rods that were missing to hold the extremely heavy panel in place. ACS was found 88% at fault and responsible for Jared's death.

Another contractor, J.H. Findorff and Sons was blamed for 10% of the responsibility for Jared's death.

ACS and Milwaukee County never explained why it was decided to attached numerous 13.5 ton concrete slab panels around two levels of the parking structure and did not consider lighter panels.

In total, ACS will have to pay out at least $38.9M in the lawsuit decision, according to CBS 58 News. ACS Attorney Matthew McClean told CBS 58 News, that they plan to appeal. But "Certainly we are disappointed with the result and don't agree with it," McClean added.