Many at fault in Big Dig collapse, lawyers say

Other firms could offer settlement deals

Less than two months after her death, Milena Del Valle's family filed a lawsuit against Powers Fasteners and many others, including the Turnpike Authority and Bechtel/Parsons. (George Rizer/File/The Boston Globe)

Lawyers involved in a $6 million award to the family of the Jamaica Plain woman killed in the 2006 Big Dig ceiling collapse said yesterday that the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and some other companies involved were more responsible for the accident than the firm that made the first settlement.

Powers Fasteners, the maker of the epoxy that held up heavy ceiling panels, this week reached the first settlement with the family but is not the most responsible party in the death of Milena Del Valle, lawyers for the family and Powers said. The firm's $6 million settlement could be followed by further substantial monetary awards from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority or a dozen-plus other companies, they said.

Some companies named in lawsuits in the case were less responsible for the accident than Powers, and some were more, the lawyers alleged. "We certainly believe that there are others who are more responsible and more culpable" than Powers Fasteners, said Jeffrey A. Denner, a lawyer for Del Valle's husband, Angel Del Valle. "There's a lot of responsibility to go around."

Del Valle was killed and her husband was injured when concrete panels crashed from the ceiling of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel onto her car in July 2006.

Powers is the only company that has faced criminal charges in Del Valle's death.

In August, a Suffolk County grand jury indicted the firm on one count of involuntary manslaughter. Powers offered the state $8 million to avoid criminal charges, lawyers told the Globe at the time, but, according to one lawyer familiar with the case, Attorney General Martha Coakley was not satisfied and secured the indictment. If convicted, the firm could face a maximum fine of $1,000.

Also in August, lawyers familiar with the investigation said, Coakley said that the state considered only two other companies to be criminally negligent, Bechtel Corp. and Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade & Douglas. Those two private companies formed the joint venture hired by the state to manage design and construction of the highway and tunnel project.

Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff has also attempted to negotiate with the state, by offering more than $300 million to settle, one lawyer told the Globe at the time. No settlement has been reached. The US attorney's office, which is also investigating the collapse of the tunnel ceiling, would have to sign off on any settlement.

A spokeswoman for Coakley said yesterday that the attorney general's office had no comment on the ongoing civil and criminal matters.

Less than two months after her July 10, 2006 death, Del Valle's family filed a lawsuit in Suffolk Superior Court against Powers Fasteners and more than a dozen other parties, including the Turnpike Authority and Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff.

Andrew C. Meyer Jr., a Boston malpractice lawyer who is not involved in the case, said the eventual award could hit tens of millions or more, following the Powers agreement to settle. "One would have to assume that [Powers] is a lower-tiered defendant who would not be one of the primary targets," Meyer said yesterday.

But a lawyer for Bechtel/Parsons disagreed, saying the Powers settlement did not mean a chain of million-dollar settlements or judgments would follow.

"Powers was in a unique situation, and I don't think that would indicate any type of trend or any reason to think that others would follow suit," said William J. Dailey Jr., who represents Bechtel Corp., Parsons Brinckerhoff, and the joint Bechtel/Parsons venture that oversaw the Big Dig project.

It's too early to say whether Bechtel/Parsons or other defendants will settle or go to trial in the lawsuit, Dailey said. The decision will depend on discovery as the case proceeds. "Everyone will have to decide what they think is best as to their position," he said.

Two lawyers who represent multiple other defendants declined to comment yesterday. Lawyers for other defendants in the case could not be reached for comment last night.

Anthony Tarricone, a lawyer who specializes in sorting out responsibility for major disasters, said Powers Fasteners and Del Valle's family each benefited from the settlement. Tarricone, who is not involved in the Big Dig case, said he also believes the Powers settlement will prompt other defendants to agree to settlements. "I think some of the other defendants will be uncomfortable being in the case without being able to put the blame on Powers or spread the liability to Powers," he said.

Bradley M. Henry, a lawyer for Del Valle's children, said the Turnpike Authority is among the most responsible parties because it operates the Massachusetts Turnpike and was responsible for overseeing construction of the $15 billion, 16-year Big Dig highway and tunnel project.

A spokesman for the Turnpike Authority declined to comment.

The most compelling piece of evidence in the case, Henry said, is a tunnel photo that shows unchecked deterioration: a series of ceiling-panel anchor plates strained and pulled askew instead of lying flat, which he compared to "a badly built LEGO construction."

"It brings together, all in this one image, this egregious lack of care," Henry said. "And whatever else happened during the design and construction phases of this tunnel, when the tunnel was turned over to the Turnpike it had an affirmative duty to make certain that it was inspected regularly. And as best we can tell, the Turnpike did nothing."

Agreeing with the lawyers for Del Valle's family, a lawyer for Powers said the epoxy manufacturer was less responsible for the accident than other companies.

"It's not only a question of what epoxy was used, but how this was installed and whether they ever inspected it," said Max D. Stern, a lawyer for Powers. "This ceiling assembly was up for seven years before it fell down."

The Del Valle suit names more than two dozen defendants. Because some are related firms, the list shrinks to just over a dozen distinct companies.

The family's main goals are to gain an understanding of how the accident happened and who is responsible, its lawyers said. Receiving compensation for the death of Del Valle, a 38-year-old wife and mother of three, is a secondary goal, they said.

Del Valle's family hopes to see the other defendants in the civil case settle, said Mario Garcia, a Miami-based lawyer for Del Valle's children, although it is prepared to go to trial.

Lawyers for the family said they appreciated that Powers Fasteners, a family-owned company based in Brewster, N.Y., was the only company willing to meet with the family to discuss the accident informally outside of legal proceedings.

"We appreciate the Powers family doing the right thing," Garcia said.

"We just hope for the sake of these children the others will follow."