The first lawsuit has been filed in Miami against the designers and builders who worked on the construction of a pedestrian bridge at Florida International University that collapsed last week and killed six people, according to a new report.
Marquise Rashaad Hepburn, who states he was “seriously injured,” submitted a civil lawsuit in the state Circuit Court in Miami Monday that alleged reckless negligence in the infrastructure project.
Hepburn is pressing charges against FIGG Bridge Engineers; the design team Munilla Construction Management; consulting engineer Bolton Perez & Associates; independent peer reviewer Louis Berger; and Network Engineering Services, according to the Miami Herald.
Law firm Morgan & Morgan has asked for $15,000 in damages to cover the injuries and trauma he sustained when the bridge fell last Thursday, March 15.
Hepburn said he was riding his bicycle under the bridge at time of its collapse. A car swerved into him and sent him airborne.
His lawsuit alleged that cracks discovered under the 175-foot bridge in the days before the incident should have been addressed and traffic should never have been allowed to pass underneath the footbridge.
Miami-Dade Police Department Director Juan Perez announced Friday his agency’s homicide squad is leading the investigation into the pedestrian bridge collapse at Florida International University and will determine if criminal negligence charges apply.
“We’ve got to look at the reality that there may be some negligence down the line,” Perez said during an interview on WIOD 610 AM Friday morning. “It will help determine whether someone is liable for this … It’s obviously an accident either way. We have to look to see if somebody contributed to that accident.”
The collapse took place shortly before 2 p.m. Thursday. More than 100 Miami-Dade firefighters responded to the scene where eight vehicles sat crushed beneath the 950-ton footbridge. Six people were killed and 10 others have been hospitalized.
