The widows of two men who were killed at a work site on Gabriola Island, B.C., have filed lawsuits against several construction companies, claiming the boom of a concrete pump-truck underwent shoddy repairs before it snapped and fell on the men last year.

Huguette Grenier-Doré and Margaret “Margy” Gilmour lost their husbands, Marc Doré and Chris Straw, in the collapse last March.

In their lawsuits filed this week, the widows claim the concrete truck’s boom broke near the point where it had been damaged and repaired months earlier.

“The turning column snapped from its base at or near the site of the weld repair, causing the entire boom to suddenly crash to the ground, striking and killing [Straw] and Marc Doré,” reads the claims filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Tuesday.

“The accident was caused solely by the negligence of the defendants.”

None of the allegations has been proven and none of four defendants has filed a response in court.

Straw and Doré, good friends and long-time island residents, had been working together last March on what was to be the Straws’ dream home on the northern end of Gabriola Island.

The Dorés, who were involved in home-building, hired a company called Bedrock Redi-Mix to provide concrete for the home’s new footings and foundation. The claims said Bedrock owned the concrete truck on site.

On March 16, Straw, Dorée and Doré’s wife were acting as the “concrete placing crew” while Bedrock employees ran the truck.

Documents said Doré was guiding the boom’s hose as it poured concrete. Straw was using a concrete vibrator to get rid of any air bubbles and Grenier-Doré followed Straw with a trowel to smooth the surface.

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