Dec 11, 2007 9:39 pm US/Eastern
Settlement To Be Reached 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
WBZ's I-Team has learned the family of the Boston woman killed in the Big Tunnel collapse is close to reaching the first of what could be many settlements.
One of the companies blamed for the collapse has agreed to pay a big price in their its death lawsuit.
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.
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 millions of dollars.
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 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.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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