Lawsuit says faulty equipment led to LV worker’s death

Monday, Aug. 14, 2000 | 10:57 a.m.

The Las Vegas family of a deceased construction worker, Christopher Green, sued Jake's Wire Rope Inc., Pacific West Wire Rope and Westco, alleging they caused his death in 1998 when they allegedly made, sold and used a defective "clip" to lift facades at the Venetian hotel-casino construction site.

In a Clark County District Court lawsuit, Green's widow, Tammy, alleged the "clips" were defective and weren't supposed to be used to lift heavy facades or exterior insulation and finish system panels.

Green, then a 24-year-old worker for Recreational Development Corp., was working on the Venetian on Dec. 28, 1998, when a three-story piece of facade broke loose, dropped about 470 feet and killed him on impact.

Clark County Fire Department spokesman Steve La-Sky was reported as saying a crane was moving the piece of facade into place at the top of the western tower of the hotel when it broke loose from the crane.

A Jake's Wire Rope officer, who said the company only makes wire rope, declined to comment further on the lawsuit. The other defendants could not be reached for comment.