Settlement ends case over Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge death

The family of a construction worker who died while working on the Stan Musial Veterans Memorial Bridge has settled its wrongful death claim against the construction companies that were building the bridge. The terms of the settlement are confidential.

In March 2012, 35-year-old Andy Gammon drowned when the lift he was on fell from a barge into the Mississippi River north of downtown St. Louis. A year later, his widow and two children as well as his parents filed a wrongful death suit against Massman Construction Co., Traylor Bros. Inc., Alberici Constructors Inc. and the joint venture of the three, known as MTA.

U.S. maritime law dating to 1851 allows vessel owners to limit damages to the post-accident value of their vessels and money owed for freight. It also allows them to move to keep all litigation in a single federal court in front of a judge rather than face a state jury.

MTA had sought to limit the damages it could be held liable for under the law. The construction companies had also won a temporary ban in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on the filing of lawsuits in other courts.

But U.S. District Judge Jean Hamilton last February lifted the ban, allowing the case to go forward in St. Louis Circuit Court. In her order, Hamilton said any award of more than $215,000 would require approval from a federal judge.

The case had been scheduled for a jury trial March 17 in St. Louis Circuit Court. In their March 2013 petition, the family asked for $10 million in punitive damages. The Feb. 18 settlement ends the litigation, with the construction companies denying liability. According to online records, the judgment was satisfied the next day.

The case is Tracy A. Gammon et al. v Massman Construction et al., 1322-cc00626.