Florida bridge-collapse victims would receive up to $42M in tentative deal with bankrupt builder
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The bankrupt construction company that built the deadly Florida International University Bridge, leading to the deaths of six people, would pay up to $42 million to victims and their families in a tentative deal with insurers.
Magnum Construction Management made a deal with the insurance companies following a year of complex litigation involving survivors of the six victims who died in the collapse on March 15, 2018, as well as eight injured survivors.
FLORIDA BRIDGE COLLAPSE CAUGHT ON DASHCAM VIDEO FROM THE HIGHWAY
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}According to the South Florida Business Journal, the settlement was filed Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court and still requires a judge's approval. The company itself filed for bankruptcy earlier this year.
“I hope this is the first major step in getting closure for these families that desperately need it,” attorney Alan Goldfarb, representing the family of Alexa Duran, a student who died after the bridge collapse, told the Miami Herald. “It’s terrible what they are going through. The court case has become a second punishment.”
“I hope this is the first major step in getting closure for these families that desperately need it.”
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The probe into the exact causes of the collapse remains active, while a report released in November said there were design flaws that overestimated the strength of a critical section in the bridge. Cracks were documented in the weeks before the collapse, but investigators have not blamed those errors for the collapse.
In addition, according to the Herald, the construction company built the bridge but didn't design it. The construction mistakes don’t appear to be responsible for the deadly collapse.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}At least 20 other entities are being sued by the victims, though they will have to settle individually.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.