I-35W Bridge Collapse: $52.4 Million Settlement Against URS Corp for Negligent Inspection

On August 1, 2007, the Interstate 35W highway bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis gave way during evening rush hour, sending vehicles and people into the water below. Thirteen people were killed. Another 145 were injured. The collapse shocked the country and immediately raised questions about how a major urban bridge on one of the nation's busiest interstates could fail without warning.

Investigators focused on URS Corp, a San Francisco-based engineering firm hired to inspect the bridge. The National Transportation Safety Board later identified a design flaw in gusset plates as the primary structural cause, but plaintiffs' attorneys argued that URS engineers, through their inspections, had been in a position to identify warning signs and failed to do so. URS maintained that its engineers were unaware of the design vulnerabilities and denied fault.

James Schwebel of Schwebel, Goetz and Sieben led litigation on behalf of 34 of the victims and their families. The case proceeded in Hennepin County District Court in Minnesota, where Judge Deborah Hedlund presided over settlement negotiations. A trial had been scheduled for spring 2011, and the pending trial carried the risk, for URS, of exposure to punitive damages on top of compensatory claims.

In August 2010, roughly three years after the collapse, the parties announced a settlement of $52.4 million from URS Corp. Of that total, $48.6 million was allocated to victims and their families, while $1.5 million was designated toward a memorial fund. URS also agreed to pay the State of Minnesota $5 million separately. The broader group of defendants and insurers, including the state and contractor Progressive Contractors Inc., contributed to a combined payout across all claimants exceeding $100 million.

Schwebel noted at the time of the announcement that victim payouts were expected to be completed by October 1, 2010. Separate claims against Jacobs Engineering Group, which had acquired the firm that originally designed the bridge, remained pending at the time of the URS settlement.