UFC fighter files first lawsuit after deadly Dallas crane collapse
DALLAS - A UFC fighter is the first to file a lawsuit after the deadly crane collapse in Dallas over the weekend.
One person was killed and five others were injured when a construction crane at a property next door to the Elan City Lights complex was toppled in high winds during Sunday’s severe storms. Cell phone video shot by residents showed how the crane tore through part of the parking garage and multiple occupied units.
Macy Chiasson is ranked #11 in her weight class and won The Ultimate Fighter 28 Championship. She is suing the crane operator and two apartment buildings for negligence.
Chaisson was in her first-floor apartment when the crane came down. She told TMZ Sports when the crane came down, she grabbed her dog and ran.
"I've completely lost everything. I don't have anything,” she told TMZ Sports. “I literally just have this shirt, a pair of shoes and this pair of shorts that I have on. I have nothing but my dog. It's just everything is gone."
Chiasson is asking for more than $1 million because of the crane operator’s negligence and the apartment owners who hired Bigge Crane and Rigging.
In 2013, OSHA cited Bigge Crane for nine "serious safety violations" and fined the company nearly $60,000 when a crane collapsed in Arkansas and killed one person.
"They should know better. They should know better. They're building a community down there,” said Jason Friedman, Chiasson’s attorney. “They own the City Lights Apartments. They own the Gabriella across the street. This is their community, and they hired a crane operator who is notorious for having violations."
Chiasson has returned to her family's home in New Orleans. Friedman says he has also filed a temporary restraining order to keep the crane operator from removing any equipment from the accident scene.
Late Monday night, the apartment complex announced that no one would be able to return to their apartments and that residents would have to find other places to live. They are offering help to relocate.
READ MORE: Dallas apartments permanently closed after crane collapse, residents to be relocated