City of Pittsburgh proposes full liability payment to Fern Hollow Bridge collapse victims

PITTSBURGH — The City of Pittsburgh sent a proposal to City Council to authorize a full liability payments to the Fern Hollow Bridge collapse victims.

PHOTOS: Bridge collapse near Pittsburgh’s Frick Park

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Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak said on Friday, he forwarded a resolution to City Council to authorize a payment of the full liability damage cap of $500,000 and directed the Law Department to present a Petition to Interplead these funds for the discharge of all liability and costs of the city to the plaintiffs of the lawsuit.

Pawlak said the matter rests with the Court at this time.

“We await its decision so we the City and the plaintiffs may bring this matter to a close,” Pawlak said.

>> Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed due to ‘extensive’ corrosion, inability to carry load, NTSB says

In May, Channel 11 spoke with attorneys who filed lawsuits on behalf of people on the bridge when it collapsed in 2022.

Peter Giglione and Steve Barth, the attorneys for the Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus driver who plunged 100 feet into a ravine when the bridge collapsed, spent months compiling this complaint which documents the emotional trauma and cites examples to try to prove negligence by the City of Pittsburgh over the span of four administrations as well as three engineering firms it hired to maintain and inspect the bridge.

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Attorneys for the other five people on the bridge filed similar complaints.

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