You Union guys are so good. Nice job, you always kill people ?
Mass. to sue Big Dig firms over tunnel accident
BOSTON (Reuters) - Massachusetts' attorney general will sue companies that worked on the state's troubled $15 billion "Big Dig" roadway project, alleging their negligence caused a ceiling panel to break loose and crush a woman to death this summer, his spokesman said on Monday.
The state's top law enforcement officer, Attorney General Tom Reilly, plans to charge that project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff and Modern Continental Construction Co., which built the tunnel ceiling, were "grossly negligent" in constructing something that caved in less than four years after the tunnel was opened to traffic, Reilly's spokesman Dave Guarino said.
The civil lawsuit, which also names companies that manufactured and distributed the epoxy used to hold up bolts, will be filed later on Monday in Suffolk Superior Court, Guarino said.
The suit comes after a three-ton portion of the tunnel ceiling crashed on a car driving through the tunnel on July 10, killing Milena Del Valle instantly
Reuters Pictures
Photo
Editors Choice: Best pictures
from the last 24 hours.
View Slideshow
Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney immediately ordered an investigation and portions of the tunnel are still closed.
The $15 billion "Big Dig" highway project replaced an elevated expressway system through downtown Boston and has been in a critical spotlight for years, first for delays and cost overruns that made it the costliest U.S. public works project ever and then for the accident this summer.
"This lawsuit is more than just about money, although we will be seeking monetary damages," Reilly told WBZ-AM radio. "What this case has always been about is the tragic death of Milena Del Valle. That could have been any of us."
While the lawsuit does not estimate damages to the state, the Boston Globe quoted an unnamed source familiar with the matter as saying that Reilly would be able to seek more than $150 million from Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff and millions more from other defendants.
Del Valle's family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in August.
© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved. |
