Victims of FIU bridge tragedy or their families could soon see their share of $103 million
Victims of the Florida International University bridge collapse or survivors could soon receive their share of nearly $103 million.
The proposed settlement is part of a bankruptcy plan filed this past week by Munilla Construction Management (MCM), the project’s general contractor.
Senior bankruptcy judge A. Jay Cristol on Friday agreed to expedite the process — barring any objections — and could approve it by the end of the year. That means the survivors of the six people killed when the bridge collapsed March 15, 2018, and the more than 10 people injured could receive payouts by the beginning of next year.
“It was a complicated, difficult process and the lawyers on both sides have worked very hard to achieve a fair result for the victims as well as the corporate defendants through a very complicated series of negotiations,” said Alan Goldfarb, who represents the parents of 18-year-old Alexa Duran, who was killed in the collapse.
Goldfarb said all the victims need a step toward legal closure.
“They will never get over the loss of their daughter,” said Goldfarb of Gina and Orlando Duran, Alexa’s parents. “If we could put the legal process part behind, it’s at least a small benefit to them.”
In July, all but one of the companies implicated in the disaster reached settlements with the victims including FIGG, the Tallahassee-based engineering firm that designed the 950-ton, 320-foot bridge. The holdout was Louis Berger, an engineering consulting firm hired to double-check FIGG’s design and calculations. The details of the individual settlements are confidential.
MCM filed its bankruptcy plan Wednesday, the same day the National Transportation Safety Board released its final report, and blamed the collapse over Southwest Eighth Street and 109th Avenue on design failures, inadequate oversight and systematic negligence.
On Saturday, MCM said as part of the reorganization it “will provide for the contribution of $102,751,000 to a trust for the benefit of the Bridge Collapse Bodily Injury Claimants.”
“MCM has worked tirelessly to develop a plan that, among other things, will put substantial funds in the hands of those most affected by this tragic accident,” the company said in a statement, noting it is asking for an expedited approval. “Our prayers continue to be with those who were impacted by the bridge’s failure.”
This story was originally published November 16, 2019 at 5:40 PM.
