Another partial settlement has been reached in relation to the deadly 2015 balcony collapse in Berkeley, California that “killed six and injured another seven.” This most recent settlement, “the amount of which is confidential, was reached between the injured victims and the families of the dead, mostly from Ireland, Greystar property managers and BlackRock, who owned the Library Gardens apartment complex at 2020 Kittredge St.”This isn't the first settlement related to the deadly accident, though. In fact, back in May another confidential, partial settlement was reached between those “responsible for the construction work and design at the apartment complex.” Though details of both the settlements remain confidential, “lawyers for the families of the students who died and seven others who were injured are pleased with the agreement,” according to reports. In fact, one of the attorney's for the families, Matthew D. Davis, issued a statement saying:“This settlement will never restore health or life but reflects an element of justice from the wrongdoers for the deaths and serious injuries caused by the tragedy.”But what happened, exactly? Was there anything that could have been done beforehand to prevent Olivia Burke, Eoghan Culligan, Niccolai Schuster, Lorcan Miller, Eimear Walsh, and Ashley Donohoe from tragically losing their lives at such young ages? Well, for starters, all the students who lost their lives, and the others who were injured, were “attending a birthday party in June 2015 when the collapse occurred, sending them plummeting 50 feet down to the street below.”

Victims of Berkeley Balcony Collapse; Image Courtesy of Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/

It's important to note, though, that the balcony didn’t just suddenly decide to collapse. According to lawsuits filed in Alameda County Superior Court, previous tenants “reported seeing mushrooms on the balcony, but the building’s manager did not close the structure off.” According to the lawsuits, “the mushrooms showed the balcony’s wooden support beams were rotting.” Later, an investigation by the city “revealed the wooden beams had rotted through from water damage.”Because of this, many of the families impacted by the accident began pushing for “legislative changes to building codes and reporting requirements for shoddy construction work.” Additionally, many companies were sued in relation to the balcony collapse, including the building owner and a construction company. Among the companies that eventually agreed to some sort of settlement was Segue Construction. The company “was among seven companies that agreed to the undisclosed settlement” back in May. According to the lawsuit, the construction company “used cheaper materials to construct the balcony, making it more susceptible to water damage.”Have any legislative changes been enacted since the accident? Well, shortly after the deaths, “state lawmakers passed a law requiring the Division of Occupational Safety and Health and the state licensing board to share information about citations or other actions taken against a contractor.” As it was written the bill would have “required contractors to disclose details of any previous out of court settlements paid by their company.” However, the provision never saw the light of day and was “killed under pressure from the construction lobby.”

Sources:

Settlement reached in deadly Berkeley balcony collapse lawsuitPartial Settlement for Victims of California Balcony Fall