Firm Sues Over Bridge Collapse Access
MINNEAPOLIS – A law firm filed a freedom of information lawsuit against the Minnesota Department of Transportation on Thursday, seeking access to documents from an engineering firm the state hired to study the disaster. Attorney Jim Schwebel, whose firm Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben represents some of those injured in the Aug. 1 collapse and the…
Lawyers Seek Cause in Preparing for Lawsuits
State and federal officials aren’t the only ones investigating the Interstate 35W bridge collapse. From their downtown Minneapolis offices, two major law firms have initiated far-reaching efforts to find a cause and assign blame for the Aug. 1 disaster. They are meticulously assembling photos, documents, experts and witnesses in preparation for the next battleground: the…
Law Firm Allowed Limited Access by State to Bridge Collapse Site
The Minneapolis law firm of Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben represents the families of several who were killed in the 35W Bridge Collapse, as well as many of the injured survivors. As a result of negotiations with the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and Minnesota Department of Transportation, five bridge experts employed by the law firm were…
Law Firm for Some 35W Victims Allowed into Site
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A law firm representing some victims of the Interstate 35W bridge collapse site said Friday its investigators had been granted access to the site. A federal judge in mid-August had rejected a request by Schwebel, Goetz & Sieben to be allowed on site. At the time, a recovery operation was ongoing for…
Legal Team is Given Access to Bridge Site
Bridge experts hired by a Minneapolis law firm were granted access Thursday to limited portions of the collapsed Interstate 35W bridge. On Thursday morning, a team of internationally recognized experts whose previous projects include the World Trade Center Towers, the Tropicana Hotel & Casino parking ramp and other structural collapses, examined previously restricted portions of…
Nick Coleman: Protecting Dignity? It’s Really Dodging Responsibility
After the Twin Towers were destroyed on Sept. 11, 2001, and as the recovery of the victims stretched from days and weeks into months, New York City built four platforms to allow the public to see the site. The platforms, each of which could hold up to 400 people, were open for five months, and…
Law Firm Denied Petition For Access To Bridge Site
Minneapolis A law firm that asked a federal court to grant its experts immediate access to the Interstate 35W bridge collapse site so they can begin their own investigation into what could lead to wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits has been denied that access by a federal judge. The petition was filed in U.S….
Law Firm Petitions for Access to Bridge Collapse Site
MINNEAPOLIS- A law firm asked a federal court to grant its experts immediate access to the Interstate 35W bridge collapse site so they can begin their own investigation into what could lead to wrongful death and personal injury lawsuits. The petition was filed in U.S. District Court here Monday by the law firm of Schwebel,…
Minnesota Bridge Death Toll up to Eight
MINNEAPOLIS — The official death toll in the devastating collapse of a highway bridge here last week rose to eight after rescue divers found what appeared to be three bodies Thursday and another body Friday. The Hennepin County medical examiner’s office identified one victim as Peter Joseph Hausmann, 47, a computer security specialist and former…
Effects of Bridge Work Weren’t Analyzed
As federal investigators continued to pursue evidence Thursday in the Interstate 35W bridge collapse, state officials said they had no reason to analyze the potential impact of resurfacing the bridge before authorizing that work. The Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) said it didn’t need an analysis beforehand because the resurfacing work wouldn’t add weight to…
Possible Flaw Identified in I-35W Bridge Design
Federal officials investigating the Interstate 35W bridge disaster said Wednesday that they are looking at a possible design flaw in some of the steel plates under the bridge and issued an alert that added weight from construction work may have been a factor in its collapse. Opening a new window into last week’s fatal bridge…
Minnesota’s Worst Bridges
More than 35 state and federal highway bridges in Minnesota were ranked about the same as or worse than the Interstate 35W bridge that collapsed Wednesday. The list includes only those bridges labeled "structurally deficient" and having a "sufficiency rating" of 50 percent or less, meaning the bridges need monitoring and might need to be…