Widow files $40M claim in Maybrook wall collapse

Accident killed 2

OSHA is investigating the wall collapse on Dec. 2 in Maybrook that killed Scott Winkler of Monroe, a married father of five, and Timothy Lang of Saugerties. A third man, Rafael Zakota of Queens, survived the accident.Jim Sabastian/For the Times Herald-Record

Published: 2:00 AM - 12/26/13

The widow of one of the two men killed when a retaining wall on a construction site in Maybrook collapsed Dec. 2 has filed a $40 million notice of claim against New York City and the city's Department of Environmental Protection.

The claim was filed on behalf of Doreen Winkler, whose husband, Scott Winkler, 50, died eight days after the collapse.

A claim, which had to be filed within 90 days of the accident, preserves the right to file a lawsuit later.

Winkler, of Monroe, was an employee of Precision Concrete Pumping of Albany. He was part of a crew working on a mock-up of an aqueduct project for the DEP when a concrete retaining wall collapsed.

The accident happened on property off Homestead Avenue owned by one of the general contractors, Halmar International Inc.

One worker, Timothy Lang, 53, of Saugerties, also employed by Precision, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was trapped under the collapsed wall for a considerable amount of time.

Winkler and another injured worker, Rafael Zakota, 37, of the Glendale section of Queens, were rescued relatively quickly and taken to hospitals. Winkler was flown to Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla, while Zakota was taken to Orange Regional Medical Center in the Town of Wallkill.

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Widow files $40M claim in Maybrook wall collapse