Survivors and families of people who died in last year's collapse of a beachfront condo building near Miami in the US state of Florida have reached a settlement close to $1 billion.
“The settlement right now is $997 million. There will be approximately another $100m that we will recover for the victims,” Carlos Silva, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said on Wednesday.
Part of Champlain Towers South, a 12-storey building built in 1981 in Surfside, a town north of Miami Beach, came tumbling down on June 24, 2021, as dozens of residents slept inside.
Except for a teenager rescued hours after the tower collapsed, search crews found no survivors and soon focused on recovering human remains.
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A couple waits for news of their loved ones from a condominium that collapsed in Surfside, Florida. Marta Lavandier / AP Photo -
An aerial view of the search and rescue personnel working on site after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, north of Miami Beach. Chandan Khanna / AFP -
View of a 12-story condominium building that partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida. Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich / EPA -
This aerial shot shows search and rescue personnel working on site after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, north of Miami Beach. Chandan Khanna / AFP -
A Miami-Dade Fire Rescue team sprays water onto the rubble as rescue efforts continue where a wing of a 12-story beachfront condo building collapsed, late on Thursday, June 24, 2021, in Miami. Gerald Herbert / AP Photo -
Lightning strikes above the Champlain Towers South as Search and Rescue personnel work after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, north of Miami Beach. Chandan Khanna / AFP -
Search and Rescue personnel hold a stretcher after recovering a body from the rubble after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, north of Miami Beach, on June 24, 2021. Chandan Khanna / AFP -
A building that partially collapsed is seen in Surfside, near Miami Beach, Florida. Octavio Jones / Reuters -
Emergency crew members search for missing residents in a partially collapsed building in Surfside, near Miami Beach, Florida. Octavio Jones / Reuters -
Emergency crews respond to a partially collapsed residential building in Surfside, near Miami Beach Florida. Marco Bello / Reuters -
A couple embrace as they wait for news of survivors from a condominium that collapsed in Surfside, Florida. Marta Lavandier / AP Photo -
A woman cries while waiting for news of survivors from a condominium that partially collapsed in Surfside, Florida. Marta Lavandier / AP Photo -
This aerial view shows search and rescue personnel working on site after the partial collapse of the Champlain Towers South in Surfside, north of Miami Beach. Chandan Khanna / AFP
A total of 98 people died in the collapse, with the last body identified nearly a month later.
A final report on the causes of the collapse has not yet been issued, although preliminary findings showed some of the building's structure appeared to be degraded.
The settlement, announced on Wednesday in a Miami-Dade County court, resolves a class-action lawsuit against several people and entities, including the developers of a building next to Champlain Towers South.
The suit claimed that vibrations from work on the adjacent site had contributed to the condo's collapse.
Harley Tropin, another of the plaintiffs' lawyers who presented the settlement agreement in court, praised it as bringing some degree of relief for survivors and the families of those who died.
“Although no amount of money will ever be enough to compensate them, we hope the closing of the legal chapter of this catastrophe will bring the victims some measure of solace,” Mr Tropin said.
The Florida judge handling the case, Michael Hanzman, had already approved an $83m settlement last March, but that only compensated the owners of condos in the building and not families of the deceased.
