Dec 12, 2007 6:17 pm US/Eastern
Defendant To Pay $6 Million In Big Dig Collapse
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Angel and Milena Del Valle were the couple caught in the big dig tunnel collapse.
CBS
The family of a Boston woman who was killed in the Big Tunnel collapse is working out a settlement in the civil case against one of the companies blamed in the collapse.
Sources told the I-Team one of the defendants in the wrongful death suit, Powers Fasteners -- the company that supplied the epoxy for the ceiling -- has agreed to pay Del Valle's family $6 million.
Tons of concrete fell from the ceiling of the Big Dig tunnel on July 10, 2006, crushing the passenger side of a car and killing 38-year-old Milena Del Valle.
The New York-based company was charged with manslaughter in September after being indicted by a special grand jury for allegedly failing to warn contractors and project managers of the consequences of using a fast-drying epoxy on the tunnel ceiling.
"The ceiling that is suspended just begins to slowly slip," said Attorney General Martha Coakley.
"We believe this is a gross injustice that a small out-of-state company has been targeted, thrown under the bus," said Jeffrey Powers of Powers Fasteners in Septmember.
Manslaughter is a charge Powers Fasteners adamantly denies. So far the small, family-owned company is the only company charged criminally in this case.
In this civil case, filed on behalf of Del Valle's family, the epoxy company is one of 17 defendants.
The $6 million settlement should put an end to the civil case against Powers Fasteners.
It's unknown what effect, if any, the settlement will have on the entire criminal case.
The wrongful death lawsuit is just one part of a very big puzzle that includes cost-recovery and criminal investigations on the state and federal levels. We expect the deal with powers to be done within the next few days.
Melina Del Valle was killed while on her way to Logan Airport to pick up relatives.
Court papers show she insisted on going with her husband because she didn't want him to be alone for the drive.
The I-Team contacted attorneys for Powers Fasteners and the Del Valle family. They all had no comment on the case.
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