Lawsuits
On November 27, 2006, departing Attorney General Tom Reilly announced that the state would launch a civil suit over the collapse of the ceiling in the Ted Williams Tunnel. The Commonwealth will be seeking over $150 million from project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, builder Modern Continental Construction Co. and the manufacturer of the epoxy used to hold the ceiling bolts.
Attorney General Martha Coakley on March 1, 2007 named Paul Ware from Goodwin Procter, a Boston law firm to lead the criminal investigation into whether there is criminal culpability in the Big Dig tunnel collapse. Paul Ware will be appointed as a special assistant attorney general.
On December 24, 2007, the family of Milena Del Valle (who was killed in the collapse) and Angel Del Valle (who was injured) announced that they had reached a settlement with Powers Fasteners, in which they would be paid $6 million. The Del Valle family stated, "We are grateful that the Powers family company has done the right thing." Powers denied responsibility, but said that the settlement would "allow the healing process to begin." Powers also stated "We also hope that this will lead others who, unlike Powers, truly were responsible for the accident, to do the same." The Del Valle family still has 14 lawsuits pending against other defendants.
Read more about this topic: Big Dig Ceiling Collapse