After fits and starts, a yearslong effort to resolve legal claims that sprang from the Fern Hollow Bridge disaster appears near its end.
The victims, the City of Pittsburgh and the three engineering firms that were sued over the bridge failure have hammered out settlements that will conclude the litigation.
“The case amicably resolved as to all parties and all claims,” said attorney Peter Giglione, who represents the Pittsburgh Regional Transit driver whose bus fell into a Frick Park ravine Jan. 28, 2022, when the bridge collapsed before dawn. “The entire case as to all plaintiffs and all defendants is completely over.”
Pittsburgh City Council received a closed-door briefing Tuesday morning as a precursor to an anticipated vote this month on paying 10 of the 11 victims of the collapse.
Council is being asked to authorize a total payout of $445,000.
It is not known what the settlement terms are for the engineering firms, which are private businesses whose legal agreements do not have to be approved by the city.
Several people were injured, some severely, when the 447-foot bridge along Forbes Avenue connecting Regent Square with Squirrel Hill broke apart and fell into the snow-covered woods below, sending several vehicles and a Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus plummeting about 100 feet. No one was killed.
An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board released in February 2024 found the collapse could have been avoided and was the result of years of inaction by city officials, as well as a lack of oversight by state and federal officials.
The victims sued the city and engineering companies — Larson Design Group Inc., Gannett Fleming Inc. and CDM Smith Inc. — that had been hired to do regular inspections of the structure, first built in 1970.
The plaintiffs include Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus driver Daryl Luciani and his wife, Karen; Clinton and Irene Runco; Tyrone Perry and his wife, Velva, who died in September 2025; Matthew Evans; Joseph Engelmeier; Thomas and Sarah Bench; and Anna Nichols, a bus passenger.
The settlements with the City of Pittsburgh, which range from $40,000 to $90,000, were introduced to council Tuesday morning.
They include $70,000 for Thomas and Sarah Bench; $60,000 for Joseph Engelmeier; $90,000 for Daryl and Karen Luciani; $40,000 for Anna Nichols; $60,000 for Clinton and Irene Runco; $62,500 for Tyrone Perry; and $62,500 for Tyrone Perry as the administrator of Velva Perry’s estate.
Online information does not list Evans as being covered by the settlement.
Danny Cerrone Jr., who represents CDM Smith, confirmed a settlement had been reached.
“All matters have been resolved with my client and all the plaintiffs,” he said.
Gannett Fleming declined to comment.
Larson did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
Council held a private executive session Tuesday afternoon to discuss the settlements. Under state law, public bodies are allowed to meet privately to consult with a lawyer about litigation, but they cannot vote behind closed doors.
Members of council could take a preliminary vote as early as next week and a final vote as soon as the week after.
Councilwoman Barb Warwick, D-Greenfield, who represents the area where the bridge is, declined to comment. She told TribLive the city’s law department had advised her against discussing the settlements before they were finalized.
Molly Onufer, a spokeswoman for Mayor Corey O’Connor, also declined to comment on the settlements. She could not say why the law department advised a council member against discussing the settlements or why they moved ahead now after years of delays.
Council approval would represent the end of a fraught battle between the victims and the city, whose total liability is capped under state law at $500,000, regardless of the number of victims.
Pittsburgh officials said, as far back as September 2024, they wanted to settle litigation for the maximum amount allowed by law. However, by February 2025, settlement efforts had fallen apart.
The case was then scheduled for trial May 11. With ongoing settlement discussions, however, the court issued an order in March putting the matter on hold indefinitely.
Quincey Catullo, Paula Reed Ward and Julia Burdelski are TribLive staff writers. They can be reached at qcatullo@triblive.com, pward@triblive.com and jburdelski@triblive.com.