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May 2, 2008 5:50 pm US/Central
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Deal Reached On Bridge Victims' Compensation
ST. PAUL (AP) ―
Minnesota lawmakers reached agreement on a $38 million compensation package for victims of the Minneapolis bridge collapse, culminating months of work to provide relief beyond the state's legal liability.
The deal will offer everyone on the bridge up to $400,000, with an additional $12.6 million pool for the people who suffered the most severe injuries and losses. Thirteen people died in the Aug. 1 collapse, and 145 were hurt.
"This is what we've been fighting for the whole time," Kimberly Brown, who suffered back, neck and knee injuries, said Friday. "For everything that everybody's been through, thank God that they have figured out a way to help everybody."
The package is expected to be on its way next week to Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who called it "needed relief and support" for the victims. Victims who accept it aren't precluded from filing lawsuits against other parties in the collapse.
After months of hearings and negotiations, Rep. Ryan Winkler and Sen. Ron Latz, both Democrats from Minneapolis suburbs, said they made the deal shortly before midnight on Thursday. They were expected to draft the legislation over the weekend so the full Legislature could approve the compromise Monday and send it to Pawlenty.
But there is more waiting ahead -- and a big decision -- before the victims get any money.
They will have to make claims by Oct. 15, and a panel appointed by the state Supreme Court will make offers by Feb. 28, although some offers could come earlier. Victims will have 45 days to decide whether to take a settlement. If they do, they will have to sign away the right to sue the state and other government bodies in Minnesota.
For the most severely injured and those who lost family members, that will mean taking less than their full losses, Latz and Winkler acknowledged at a Capitol news conference.
"We believe this is going to be an offer which the survivors would be well advised to accept," Latz said.
Victims said they were thankful for the compromise.
Jennifer Holmes, who lost her husband, Patrick, in the collapse, thanked lawmakers and said she plans to take the settlement to avoid the waiting and uncertainty she would face if she sued the state.
"There is no way possible that we can get that day back," Holmes said. "Or get back what we have been through in losing our loved ones or going through numerous surgeries that people are still doing. But this does help in making sure that we have a safe future."
Helen Hausmann lost her husband, Peter -- the sole breadwinner for Helen and their four children ages 8 to 17.
"It's been so hard," she said. "Every day, little things he used to do, you find yourself doing it alone. Things we used to decide, I decide by myself. It's so hard. You once were a family of six, you're a family of five."
Her attorney, Bill Harper, said the Hausmann family has been getting by on Peter's life insurance policy and compensation from the state will be a big help.
"It will not make her whole," he said. "It is a remarkably positive step to keeping her nose above water as she pursues the other potential remedies."
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the collapse. Officials have focused on a design flaw involving gussets, the plates that help connect steel beams, and the weight of construction materials at vulnerable points in the bridge. Victim lawsuits are on hold until a final determination is made.
(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)