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Los Angeles Jury Awards $16.3 Million In Construction Death

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — A Los Angeles jury has awarded $16.3 million to the family of a construction worker who fell to his death at a wastewater treatment plant.

The Superior Court panel on Wednesday found for Rosa Gonzalez and her two children in a lawsuit against Atlas Construction Supply.

Her husband, 30-year-old Edgar Gonzalez, fell 30 feet while building a wall at the Hyperion treatment plant near Playa del Rey on Aug. 2, 2011.

Gonzalez suffered severe head trauma when he fell 30 feet while connected to what the plaintiffs alleged was an improperly secured framework structure which weighed several thousand pounds and partially landed on him when it collapsed.

Douglas Purdy, an attorney for Atlas, said he disagreed with the verdict, but Gonzalez's widow, Rosa Gonzalez, said she was pleased.

Rosa Gonzalez had also sued the crane operator at the site, Mr. Crane Inc., but that part of the case was settled before trial for $650,000. Half that sum went to hear and 25 percent each went to her 12-year-old son, Aaron, and 7-year-old daughter, Atarah.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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