Big Dig charges

OK, here's my question: If the company is indicted for manslaughter, who does the time?

Company indicted in tunnel collapse
August 8, 2007
BY STEVE LeBLANC
ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON — The company that provided the epoxy blamed in the fatal Big Dig tunnel collapse was indicted today in the death of a motorist crushed by ceiling panels.

Powers Fasteners Inc., was charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter, Attorney General Martha Coakley said. The Brewster, N.Y.-based firm was the only company involved in the construction and design of the tunnel to be indicted by the Suffolk County grand jury, Coakley said.

A report from the National Transportation Safety Board released last month found the July 10, 2006, collapse could have been avoided if designers and construction crews had considered that the epoxy holding support anchors for the panels could slowly pull away over time.

Milena Del Valle, 39, was killed when 26 tons of concrete panels and hardware came crashing down from a tunnel ceiling onto her car as she and her husband drove through the westbound I-90 connector tunnel. Her husband crawled out of the rubble with minor injuries.

The company did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

 

That's a really good question.

 

No one can do time for criminal charges against a company.

 

Really, I thought I saw something like that on "Law and Order" where the CEO was convicted and would do time.

On an unrelated note, I saw this thread title and wondered what Glenn Robinson had done this time.

 

Wait a minute. Let me get this straight.

The epoxy wouldn't hold. The designers and construction crews didn't take this into account.

And yet the glue company was charged?

Isn't this kind of like Royals fans suing the Louisville Slugger bat company for their team sucking ass?

I know, someone died and it's an awful tragedy, but methinks someone is being made a scapegoat over perhaps someone else who may be in favor. Hmmmmmm?

 

It's possible that the construction contractor relied on the glue manufacturer to tell them if their product was appropriate for this purpose. No contractor is an expert at everything. It is common to bring in someone like a glue manufacturer and ask them what to use, or how to solve a given problem. If the glue company recommends a certain product or method and it fails, it's their fault.

 

But if the contractor applied the glue improperly, is that the glue manufacturer's fault?

There are a lot of facts in this case that haven't been made public, and it makes me scratch my head. Not the least of which is why the contractor used epoxy rather than BOLTING or SCREWING the plates to the ceiling, which if not a lot more secure, would have AT A MINIMUM provided a failsafe.