Posted on 08/23/24
| News Source: WBAL
Baltimore, MD - Aug. 23, 2024 - The Baltimore City’s Rules and Oversight Committee heard an argument for an ordinance Thursday that would allow the city to recover economic losses from those held responsible for the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in March.
Legal council for the city, Daniel Schwartz, from DiCello Levitt, said the goal of the ordinance and their litigation is to recover every piece possible.
“That is beyond just a first responder appearing the day that this occurred,” Schwartz said. “I mean, I’m not telling you anything you don’t know, but it reverberates throughout the city’s economy.”
Schwartz adds that their lawsuit is focused on suing the owners and operators of the Dali, the ship that crashed into a support beam of the bridge, which caused the collapse, not the company that hired the workers.
Councilwoman Odette Ramos said she believes the workers on the ship were also partially responsible.
“Every claimant, every victim, whether it’s the state, the city, these individuals, will be working to show that what the defendants did was put a bad boat in the water,” Ramos said.
The Key Bridge collapsed in the early hours of March 26 after the Dali container ship hit one of the bridge’s supporting beams. Six construction workers lost their lives in the collapse.