The family of one of the six people killed in the recent FIU pedestrian bridge collapse has sued the construction companies that oversaw the bridge project.
Ana Maria Oviedo Garcia, the wife of 60-year-old victim Rolando Fraga, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Munilla Construction Management (MCM) and FIGG Bridge Engineers, Inc. Fraga was on his lunch break when the bridge collapsed on top of his silver Jeep Cherokee.
Garcia’s attorneys say the construction company and bridge engineer did not pay sufficient attention to the safety of the bridge. They allege the companies should have known about the dangers before the collapse and that the road should have been closed down to protect motorists. According to the attorneys, the companies had good reason to believe there was a hazard to public safety. The companies were adjusting construction cables at the time of the collapse, a fact safety advocates say should have led to traffic being diverted.
Details of the claim
The plaintiff’s attorney says that just two days before the collapse, an engineer from FIGG left a voicemail with the Florida Department of Transportation, saying he noticed some cracks in the bridge’s cement. The two construction companies had a meeting to discuss the issue the morning of the collapse. That same day, a man under the bridge heard a sound that resembled the crack of a whip.
These signs, attorneys say, combined with the years of experience these companies have in bridge design and construction, should have been enough to alert them that a road closure was needed.
For more information on the steps you should take if injured in a construction accident, work with an experienced Bradenton personal injury lawyer at Goldman, Babboni, Fernandez, Murphy & Walsh.