Pittsburgh proposes $500,000 settlement with Fern Hollow Bridge collapse victims
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The city of Pittsburgh proposed a payment to settle with the victims of the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse. According to the deputy mayor, the city would pay out a total of $500,000.
The attorneys representing the victims of the bridge collapse say this proposed settlement caught them by surprise.
The announcement came Friday morning from Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak. He said this would acknowledge the city's role in the collapse. It's been more than two years since the bridge collapsed in January of 2022, injuring eight people.
"We accept that the Fern Hollow Bridge was city infrastructure and so we have liability," Pawlak said.
The total is the upper limit for the city's liability. In Pennsylvania, state law sets the cap on what municipalities pay out. This money would be split between all the victims. If it were to be split evenly between the eight victims, that would be $62,500 a person. At this point, it is not known how it would be split.
"In instances like this, the city's liability has an upper limit. We have agreed to pay that all the way up to that limit," Pawlak said.
In a statement, the attorneys representing the victims say they appreciate the city accepting responsibility for the collapse and the payout but no attorneys were contacted and learned about this through media reports.
In response, the city solicitor says this is a court matter and they can't comment on ongoing litigation. The victims' attorneys say they look forward to discussing this petition in court. They also plan to proceed with their cases against several engineering firms.
Pawlak said the city wanted to bring this matter to an end.
"So, we think this will streamline the process that hasn't been able to reach a conclusion so far," Pawlak said.
Before the situation can wrap up, the judge must approve this settlement.