Bridge collapse survivor files first lawsuit
A bicyclist who was badly hurt in the deadly collapse of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University filed the first civil lawsuit Monday in the tragedy, according to a report.
Marquise Rashaad Hepburn, 24, was “seriously injured” as he rode his bike under the doomed bridge, according to a lawsuit filed Monday in state Circuit Court in Miami, according to the Miami Herald.
As the 174-foot span came crashing down, a vehicle swerved into Hepburn and sent him airborne before he landed under the southern end of the bridge, according to the suit.
Hepburn, a Miami-Dade County resident, was hospitalized with undisclosed injuries. Six people were killed in the accident, which also left nine other people hurt on Thursday.
He hired the Orlando-based law firm Morgan & Morgan to sue several entities “who undertook and allowed inherently dangerous construction activities to proceed without necessary safety precautions.”
Among those listed in the suit are the design-bridge team FIGG Bridge Engineers and Munilla Construction Management; Bolton Perez & Associates, the consulting engineer; Louis Berger, which conducted an independent peer review of the work; and Network Engineering Services.
The complaint, which seeks damages in excess of $15,000, alleges that FIGG, MCM and BPA failed to adequately recognize the “imminent danger” posed by cracks spotted on the span.
It also alleges that traffic should have been diverted from under the $14.2 million bridge as workers performed stress testing — or post-tensioning — on the span’s north end.
The suit was filed as students returned to class from spring break with a moment of silence for the victims planned for 1:47 p.m. – the same time the bridge fell last week.
“Our hearts break for the victims of the bridge collapse. Lives have been lost. Futures and families shattered,” FIU President Mark Rosenberg said in a statement over the weekend.
The bridge was installed March 10, just five days before the collapse. The cracks, which were detected two days before the incident, were discussed during an engineering meeting on the day of the accident.
Denny Pate, an engineer for FIGG, reported the cracks to the state’s Department of Transportation. He said in a voicemail to the DOT that the cracks — described as “not good” — would require repairs.
At the meeting attended by representatives for FIU and the DOT, Pate said the cracking did not compromise the bridge’s structural integrity.
Reps from FIGG, MCM and BPA did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Monday. The companies have said they would cooperate fully in the investigation. The other entities could not be reached.
Hepburn attorney Matt Morgan told the paper that any kind of bridge construction, but particularly those built using Accelerated Bridge Construction methods, requires “close coordination” to ensure public safety.
“We are of the opinion that this tragedy was foreseeable and could have been prevented,” he said.