Elad Benari(A7)
A Florida judge on Thursday approved a $1.2 billion settlement for the victims of a condominium collapse that killed 98 people, Reuters reported, citing an attorney for the plaintiffs.
The decision from Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Michael Hanzman came a day before the one-year anniversary of the Champlain Towers South collapse in Surfside, Florida.
The agreement compensates family members of those who died in the disaster as well as residents who were injured or lost their homes.
Rachel Furst, the plaintiffs’ co-lead attorney, said the agreement does not include the proceeds of the land sale or the insurance held by the condominium association, which is money the victims and their family members will also receive.
Lawyers for the defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.
Champlain Towers was in the midst of its 40-year structural review when it collapsed without warning in the early morning hours of June 24, 2021, killing 98 people. The incident is one of the deadliest accidental building collapses in US history.
A lawsuit filed this past November says that construction of a luxury building next door triggered the collapse of the building.
The federal investigation into the deadly collapse entered a new phase last week that involves cutting and drilling into concrete and steel to determine what role they played in the disaster.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology said in a news release that what is known as invasive testing will begin soon as investigators seek samples from materials collected at the collapsed Champlain Towers South site.
