FIU Bridge Collapse Analysis Published by John Leighton

John Leighton’s analysis of the legal issues surrounding the tragic FIU bridge collapse was published in the April 9, 2018 issue of the Miami Herald Business Monday/South Florida Legal Guide.  The article addressed the potential claims, possible defendants and the analysis of how those claims would be brought in light of the catastrophic failure of this 990-ton structure that failed, causing six deaths.  The bridge was being built by Munilla Construction Management and Figg Bridge Engineers.  The 174-foot long bridge was an “innovative” new design, and was being adjusted while traffic was below.  The bridge was still under construction, and major cracks had already been reported before this failure.  None of those in control restricted access under the span, which crossed the very busy SW 8th Street by Florida International University.

Mr. Leighton addressed issues of insurance coverage, sovereign immunity and apportionment, as well as identifying the known likely players involved in the construction and management. The actual root causes of this failure, though seemingly evident, may take years to play out in the courts.  The bottom line is that there are senseless deaths due to mistakes that were clearly avoidable.