$101 Million Settlement for Workers Killed and Injured in Tropicana Casino Garage Collapse

On the morning of October 30, 2003, the top five levels of a 2,400-space parking garage being built as part of a $265 million expansion at the Tropicana Casino Resort in Atlantic City pancaked to the ground while workers were pouring concrete on the top deck. Four men died in the collapse: ironworkers Michael Wittland, 53, and James Bigelow, 29, and concrete workers Robert Tartaglio Jr., 42, and Scott Pietrosante, 21. More than 30 others were injured, including Edward Wittland, Michael's son, who suffered a broken neck.

Federal OSHA investigators concluded the failure resulted from flaws in design, execution, and oversight. Critical steel connections between the garage decks and the outer walls had never been installed, and the bracing used while the concrete cured was inadequate to hold the structure together.

Robert Mongeluzzi of Saltz Mongeluzzi Barrett and Bendesky led the legal team representing 11 of the plaintiffs and coordinated with co-counsel Paul D'Amato and others representing additional claimants. The defendants numbered 16 in total, including the Tropicana Casino Resort, parent company Aztar Corp., general contractor Keating Building Corp., concrete subcontractor Fabi Construction, structural engineering firm DeSimone Consulting Engineers, and Site-Blauvelt Engineers. The plaintiffs argued that multiple parties shared responsibility for a project where, in Mongeluzzi's words, 'the floors were not connected to the walls with the required reinforcing steel.'

With a jury trial scheduled for June 2007, the parties reached a settlement in April of that year. The total package came to approximately $101 million: roughly $82.5 million in cash, $2 million from prior individual settlements, $8.2 million in workers compensation liens waived by carriers, and $8.3 million set aside for future medical expenses. Judge William E. Nugent presided over the Atlantic County Superior Court proceedings, with Judge Stephen P. Perskie serving as settlement judge.

At the time of the announcement, Mongeluzzi and Bendesky stated the result was believed to be the largest settlement ever reached in a U.S. construction accident case. The $101 million figure covered 36 plaintiffs, distributing compensation among the families of those killed and the dozens of workers who survived with serious injuries.