Massachusetts Personal Injury Settlements

On September 30, 2008, Mileena Del Valle’s husband and children announced a $28 million personal injury settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit against 15 Big Dig contractors. Over two years ago, 26 tons of concrete took the life of Delvalle as she accompanied her husband, Angel, through the Interstate 90 connector tunnel.

This large personal injury settlement applies to all of the defendants in the suit, including Big Dig project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, contractor Modern Continental Co., and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. As part of the settlement, the defendants do not admit to liability.

The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the tunnel’s epoxy-holding support anchors were incapable of holding up the 4,600 pound concrete panels over the long-term. As time passed, the anchors could slowly pull away in a process known as “creep.” Modern and Bechtel were aware of problems with the anchor, but were faulted for focusing on the installation of the anchors rather than the epoxy material. The MTA was blamed for its failure to enact a tunnel inspection program that could have revealed the anchor creep problem.

Where a person’s negligence causes another person’s death, the decedent is obviously incapable of recovering for his or her personal injury. Under the Massachusetts wrongful death statute, however, defendants are liable in tort to surviving family members for loss of income, services, care, assistance, companionship, comfort, guidance, counsel, and advice. Additionally, surviving family members can recover funeral and burial expenses in a personal injury settlement.

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