Elderly Man Falls 3 Stories to His Death While Staying at Retirement Home

Yesterday an elderly man fell to his death from a balcony at a Silverdale retirement home.  The man, 88-year-old James P. Donald, fell from his third-floor apartment at the Crista Shores Retirement Community early Tuesday morning. He was pronounced dead at the scene.  The Kitsap County Sheriff's Office has ruled the death as accidental.

A spokeswoman for Crista Ministries, which owns the retirement home, says scaffolding was covering the victim's balcony area because the retirement community is undergoing major renovations. Crista officials are working with authorities to determine what safety measures were in place by contractors working on the project. 

There are specific safety and fall protection measures that must be followed by contractors.  Usually, the General Contractor has innate supervisory authority over other sub-contractors when it comes to maintaining a safe worksite.  The man's estate may have a claim for negligence against the General Contractor and/or the sub-contractors depending on who had control and authority over the area in which the man fell.  Work site injuries can often involve contentious and expensive litigation because the GC and other Subs will usually try to point the finger at others to avoid liability.  Often more than one party must be joined in the lawsuit to prevent an "empty chair" in the litigation.

The representatives for the man's estate should pay very close attention to the investigation, which may be carried out by the Sheriff's Office and the Dept. of Labor and Industries.  In most cases like this, especially one involving a potential wrongful death claim, an experienced personal injury attorney should be consulted if not retained.

Seattle personal injury attorneys at the Davis Law Group in Seattle have experience settling and litigating construction accidents and wrongful death claims.  Please call DLG for a free consultation.