The family of Firefighter Robert Beddia (pictured far left) will sue the whole gang of state agencies and private contracting companies that were involved in the deconstruction of the former Deutsche Bank building–site of last summer’s tragic fire that took the lives of firefighters Beddia and Joseph Graffagnino (pictured right).
The suit, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, contends that “serious safety lapses…converted the building into a veritable death trap,” and “if not for the “reckless conduct” of the various deconstruction stakeholders, Robert Beddia “would still be fighting fires with New York City’s Bravest today.”
Those named in the suit include: the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.; Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center; Bovis Lend Lease Inc.; the John Galt Corp.; TRC Environmental Corp.; safety contractor URS Corp.; the Gilbane Building Co., Safeway Environmental Corp.; and Regional Scaffolding and Hoisting Co. Inc.
Joseph Graffagnino’s family has not yet filed a lawsuit but is planning to, and has filed a notice of claim.
