HOUSTON – The family of a construction worker who died during renovations to Texas A &M's Kyle Field in 2013 is getting its day in court in Harris County, suing four companies for wrongful death and negligence.
In December 2013, Angel Garcia of Dallas, was part of a demolition crew when a 3,000 pound piece of concrete sent his Caterpillar loader tumbling four stories to the ground.
"He was in a piece of equipment that was overloaded," said attorney Jason Gibson who is representing Garcia's family in the civil suit.
They're asking for $100 million in damages.
"We're not doing this because of the money or anything like that, we just want the companies to learn to be more careful and take care of their workers," said Marcos Garcia, Angel's brother.
Houston-based Manhattan and Vaughn construction companies led the Kyle Field project. Additional work was subcontracted to Garcia's employer Lindamood Demolition and Texas Cutting and Coring.
In May 2014 OSHA charged Lindamood and Texas Cutting and Coring with several violations. Fines against both companies totaled more than $130,000.
"There's no evidence that he was trained properly," Gibson said.
But in court, lawyers for the construction companies disputed that claim, saying it was operator error.
Those attorneys did not wish to comment on the case at this time.
After two weeks of testimony from more than 50 witnesses, closing arguments are expected to begin Tuesday morning.