Survivor of Florida bridge collapse sues design-construction firms for reckless negligence

Two days after the last body was removed from a collapsed bridge in Florida, the first civil lawsuit stemming from the tragedy has been filed, alleging reckless negligence on the part of the design and construction companies.

Marquise Rashaad Hepburn, who lives in Miami-Dade County, was “seriously injured” as he rode his bicycle under the pedestrian bridge spanning Southwest Eighth Street at 109th Avenue near the main campus of Florida International University (FIU), according to a lawsuit filed on Monday in state Circuit Court in Miami. 

As the massive, 53 metre (174-foot) concrete slab came crashing down, a car swerved into Hepburn, sending him airborne, according to the suit.

Caught underneath the southern end of the span, Hepburn survived, but was admitted to hospital with undisclosed injuries.

Hepburn hired the law firm Morgan&Morgan and is suing a host of entities involved in the design, construction and oversight of the bridge, “who undertook and allowed inherently dangerous construction activities to proceed without necessary safety precautions.”