Six companies, including contractors and designers, have settled lawsuits connected to the Florida International University (FIU) pedestrian bridge collapse that killed six people in March 2018.
According to a report from the Miami Herald, an attorney for the survivors and families of the victims announced the settlements last week in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. While the amount to be awarded to the plaintiffs in the case is currently undisclosed, the money from the settlement will be added to the $42 million already coming from Magnum Construction Management—the builder of the bridge which filed for bankruptcy this year—which reached a settlement deal back in May.
One of the companies that settled in this latest development is FIGG Bridge Group, the bridge's designer. Other companies involved with various aspects of the bridge's design and construction that settled included Bolton Perez & Associates, Corradino Group, A&P Consulting Transportation Engineers Corp., RLT Engineering Services LLC, and Gerdau Ameristeel US Inc.
Families of the six victims killed in the collapse of the 950-ton pedestrian bridge along with eight injured survivors sued more than 20 defendants for their role in structure's collapse.
The announcement of the settlement comes just a few weeks after the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released a report detailing its findings from its investigation of the FIU bridge collapse. In the report, OSHA lays significant blame for the collapse on FIGG as the bridge designer, saying the company failed to recognize that the structure was in danger of collapsing when it was inspected hours before the collapse occurred.
The National Transportation Safety Board is continuing to investigate the FIU bridge collapse. Back in November, the agency released an investigative update that revealed significant errors had been made in the design of the bridge.
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SOURCE: Miami Herald
