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Lowe's Bridge Collapse

Judge Rules in favor of LMS in bridge collapse: Four NASCAR fans injured in the post-race collapse of a pedestrian bridge in 2000 cannot seek damages from Lowe's Motor Speedway, the state's Court of Appeals ruled Wednesday. The three-judge panel unanimously determined that the lawsuits, filed in 2004, came too long after the bridge was constructed in September 1995. State law protects manufacturers from negligence lawsuits after six years under the premise that a product, such as a walking bridge, will eventually deteriorate and fail over time. More than 100 people were injured, some seriously, on May 20, 2000, when an 80-foot section of the walkway fell 25 feet onto a highway in Concord. Fans were crossing to a nearby parking lot after a NASCAR all-star race. Investigators have said the bridge builder, Tindall Corp., used an improper additive to help the concrete filler at the bridge's center dry faster. The additive contained calcium chloride, which corroded the structure's steel cables and led to the collapse. Most of the rest of the nearly 50 lawsuits filed against the speedway have been settled out of court and it is expected the few remaining lawsuits to conclude by the end of the year. The lead lawyer representing the fans who took their cases to the appellate court said they will consider appealing to the state Supreme Court to win the right to jury trials.(ESPN.com/AP)(7-6-2006)

Attorney's request reduced by judge: A judge ruled Friday that an attorney for a family injured in the May 2000 pedestrian bridge collapse at Lowe's Motor Speedway will get only 6 percent of the more than $355,000 he requested in reimbursement for trial expenses. At a Tuesday hearing, lead attorney Marvin Blount argued that the defendants in the lawsuit should pay the $355,373.85 he spent representing a family injured in the accident. But Cabarrus County resident Superior Court Judge Erwin Spainhour ordered Friday afternoon that the speedway and walkway-builder Tindall Corp. should reimburse Blount only $21,475.13.(Charlotte Observer)(5-3-2003)

Speedway attorneys balk at opponents' bills: Over the course of a 10-week civil trial, the lawyers for a family injured in the Lowe's Motor Speedway walkway collapse ate at some of Charlotte's swankiest restaurants, traveled via private plane and kept hotel rooms for weekends they weren't staying in Charlotte. Now defense attorneys say the speedway and walkway-builder Tindall Corp. shouldn't have to pay $355,373.85 to cover their opponents' expenses, which included food, travel and lodging.(Charlotte Observer)(4-30-2003)

Jurors award couple $4 million in speedway collapse: Jurors awarded a Virginia couple injured in the 2000 collapse of a pedestrian walkway at Lowe's Motor Speedway just over $4 million Thursday. Cindy and Marty Taylor of Nelson County, Va., sought $27 million in damages from the speedway and from Tindall Corp. of Spartanburg, S.C., which built the pedestrian bridge over U.S. 29 in Concord. Fans were leaving the track after the running of The Winston, a NASCAR all-star race, when the bridge collapsed on May 20, 2000. More than 100 people were injured, none fatally. The Taylors sought damages for head, back and leg injuries they suffered in the disaster. Less seriously injured was Cindy Taylor's 2-year-old son. Jurors awarded $2.5 million in damages to Cindy Taylor, $1.5 million to Marty Taylor and $20,000 to Cindy Taylor's son. None of the family was in the courtroom for the verdict. In its verdict, the 11-member Mecklenburg Superior Court panel said Tindall's negligence caused the Taylors' injuries but answered no when asked whether the speedway was negligent. However, jurors found the track breached a contract with the state transportation department regarding inspection and design of the bridge and they ruled that the Taylors should be third-party beneficiaries of that agreement. More than a dozen claims stemming from the collapse have already been settled.(ThatsRacin.com/AP)(3-21-2003)

News on the Bridge Collapse Lawsuit: Talk of money and responsibility dominated closing arguments Monday in the $27 million trial over the pedestrian bridge collapse at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Following eight weeks of testimony and seven hours of closing arguments, the Superior Court jury should begin deliberations this morning. The civil suit by a Virginia family is the first of dozens to make it to trial.(Charlotte Observer) AND Jurors began deliberations Tuesday in a $27 million lawsuit brought by a Virginia family caught in the collapse of a pedestrian walkway after a NASCAR all-star race. More than 100 people were injured when the walkway over U.S. 29 in Concord collapsed as fans left the Lowe's Motor Speedway complex in May 2000. More than a dozen people have settled their cases for undisclosed amounts. Marty and Cindy Taylor of Nelson County, Va., were the first of the remaining victims to have their case come to trial. Jurors began deliberating Tuesday morning, recessed that afternoon and were to resume Wednesday. The Taylors are seeking damages from the track and from Tindall Corp., of Spartanburg, S.C., which built the bridge.(Charlotte Observer/AP)(3-19-2003)

Defendent Dropped in Bridge Lawsuit: A New Jersey company that makes grout was removed Monday as a defendant in a $27 million lawsuit by a couple injured when a pedestrian walkway collapsed at Lowe's Motor Speedway. After plaintiffs Marty and Cindy Taylor of Nelson County, VA, rested their case Monday, the judge granted a motion to remove Anti-Hydro International Inc. of Flemington, NJ, from the case, said Doug Ey, the company's lawyer. The Taylors' claim continues against Lowe's Motor Speedway and the company that built the walkway. "The judge found no evidence of negligence on the part of Anti-Hydro,'' Ey said. "That ended the case for them.'' The bridge over U.S. 29 in Concord collapsed in May 2000 as fans exited the speedway after The Winston, NASCAR's all-star race. No one died, but more than 100 people were injured. The Taylors claim they both suffered head and orthopedic injuries, as well as memory loss after the accident. Each has been through several operations. Twelve people injured in the collapse settled their cases in August for undisclosed amounts. The Taylors are the first of the remaining victims to have their case come to trial.(ESPN/AP)(3-11-2003)

Victim takes stand in speedway walkway collapse trial: A pedestrian walkway collapse at Lowe's Motor Speedway interrupted a Virginia couple's newlywed romance, the husband testified in a lawsuit against the speedway. The four months between Cindy and Marty Taylor's wedding in January 2000 and their injuries in the May collapse of a pedestrian walkway over U.S. 29 were "great," Marty Taylor said Monday. "We just had fun," he testified in Mecklenburg Superior Court. The Nelson County, Va., couple had met online and had their first date in the summer of 1998, spending the day in Roanoke, Va., Marty Taylor said. The couple seeks $27 million in damages from the speedway, the builder of the walkway and the company that made a grout blamed for corroding steel cables that held the structure together. The bridge over U.S. 29 in Concord collapsed as fans exited the speedway after The Winston, a NASCAR all-star race. No one died, but more than 100 people were injured. The Taylors' lawyer, Marvin Blount, has said husband and wife both suffered head and orthopedic injuries as well as memory loss after the accident. Each has been through several surgeries. A clinical psychologist from Lynchburg, Va., testified last month that Cindy Taylor suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, including an inability to walk across bridges and a phobia of elevators. He said both Taylors suffer chronic pain from their injuries that makes it hard to focus on day-to-day tasks and that both suffer from moderate levels of depression. Marty Taylor was to continue being questioned by Blount on Tuesday, followed by cross-examination by lawyers for the speedway, walkway builder Tindall Corp. of Spartanburg, S.C., and grout-maker Anti-Hydro International Inc. of Flemington, N.J. Twelve people injured in the collapse settled their cases in August for undisclosed amounts. The Taylors are the first of the remaining victims to have their case come to trial. The outcome of their case could signal how much money - if any - juries are willing to award people hurt in the collapse.(in part from Herald Tribune/AP).(3-4-2003)

Story on the LMS Bridge Collapse in 2000: Nearly three years after a pedestrian walkway collapse at Lowe's Motor Speedway, a Virginia couple still struggles with the psychological aftershocks, a clinical psychologist testified Wednesday. Cindy and Marty Taylor of Nelson County, Va., seek $27 million in damages in their lawsuit against the speedway, the builder of the walkway and the company that made a grout blamed for corroding steel cables that held the bridge together. The walkway over U.S. 29 in Concord collapsed as fans exited the speedway after the running of The Winston, a NASCAR all-star race, in May 2000. No one died, but more than 100 people were injured.(see full AP story at Sun News: Psychologist says couple suffers after walkway fall.(2-20-2003)

Opening statements heard in Lowe's Motor Speedway walkway collapse trial: Three corporate defendants are named in a lawsuit over the May 2000 walkway collapse at Lowe's Motor Speedway, and each says the other is at fault. Opening arguments began Friday in the $27 million lawsuit brought by a Virginia family hurt in the collapse. Their case is the first of dozens to make it to trial, and it could signal how much money - if any - juries are willing to award people hurt in the fall. Cindy and Marty Taylor and their son, Brody Wright, of Nelson County, VA, are suing the speedway, the bridge builder and the maker of a substance that corroded the steel supporting the bridge. They say a series of construction mistakes and negligence caused the bridge over U.S. 29 to fall May 20, 2000. Soon after the collapse, investigators determined that steel cables had corroded inside the support beams, causing the bridge to fall. Experts blamed the corrosion on high levels of calcium chloride in the grout near the center of the bridge; none of the parties in the Taylors' case disputes that. What is at stake, though, is who could have prevented the collapse. In his opening statement, the Taylors' attorney, Marvin Blount, argued the speedway should have supervised the bridge's construction, made sure safe materials were used in building it and inspected and maintained the bridge regularly. Blount also blamed Tindall Corp., the Spartanburg construction company that designed and helped install the bridge's concrete support beams, for using an additive to make the concrete filler at the bridge's center dry more quickly - even though the additive contained the corrosive calcium chloride and was not on a state list of materials acceptable for that kind of construction. And he blamed Anti-Hydro International Inc. of New Jersey, which sold Tindall the additive, for not revealing on its label that it contained calcium chloride. But all three defendants pointed at each other as the source of the problem. Speedway attorney David Allen said Tindall was ultimately responsible for building the bridge. "We didn't tell them how to make it. We didn't tell them what to do," Allen said. "We're in the racetrack business, not the concrete business." Tindall attorney Reid Phillips acknowledged company employees mixed the grout with the additive to speed up drying on the day the bridge had to be delivered. But he said the company couldn't have known the additive had calcium chloride in it. "Anti-Hydro considered the contents of that product to be a trade secret," Phillips said. Even so, said Anti-Hydro attorney Dixie Wells, the directions on the grout container were clear: "The mixing instructions said, `Do not add anything but potable water,' " she said. "Anti-Hydro is not water." The pedestrian bridge collapse injured 107 people. Of those, 61 sued; so far, at least 12 have settled out of court. "Once (the current trial is) over, it may do something to the strategy of everyone who's left over," said Bill Fields, an attorney working with the remaining plaintiffs. "It's intuitive that you would be emboldened by a big verdict." The trial order is set so that people with the worst injuries go to court first. The Taylors both suffered brain injuries, many broken bones and emotional distress, Blount said. Each has undergone several surgeries, Blount said, but neither will be able to live a normal life again. Attorneys will begin presenting evidence at 9:30am/et Monday [Feb 3rd] in the Mecklenburg County Courthouse.(ThatsRacin.com)(2-1-2003)

Jury Selection Begins for LMS bridge collapse: Jury selection has begun for one trial involving victim's from a bridge collapse at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2000. Twelve jurors and an alternate juror will be selected. The trial will take place in Mecklenburg County Superior Court and presided over by Cabarrus County Superior Court Judge Erwin Spainhour. The cases are being heard in Mecklenburg court to accommodate a prolonged trial. Mecklenburg County is also a central location between suits filed in Cabarrus and Rowan counties. A 15-foot-high walkway, one of two that spanned U.S. 29 and connected Lowe's Motor Speedway to a parking lot collapsed after the May 20, 2000, race. About 100 people were sent to area hospitals after the bridge collapsed around 11:15 p.m. Most were treated for lacerations, bruises and simple fractures with no deaths. Investigators have focused an investigation on deteriorated steel support girders as the cause of the accident.(Independent Tribune)(1-22-2003)

Lowe's Motor Speedway/Bridge Lawsuite - one settled: One of the cases set for trial involving victims from the bridge collapse at Lowe's Motor Speedway in 2000 has been settled, according to court officials Tuesday. The names of the plaintiffs and the settlement results were not available as of press time. The case that was settled was one of four that attorneys are dealing with this week. Attorneys for the victims and attorneys for Lowe's Motor Speedway and the bridge contractors will continue to negotiate Wednesday and Thursday, officials said. If the remaining three cases can not be settled, pretrial motions will begin Friday, court officials said. Each case involves multiple plaintiffs. The first trial would begin next week, officials said. The trial will be held in Mecklenburg County Superior Court. A 15-foot-high walkway, one of two that spanned U.S. 29 and connected Lowe's Motor Speedway to a parking lot, collapsed after the May 20, 2000, race [The Wonston]. About 100 people were sent to area hospitals after the bridge collapsed around 11:15 p.m. Most were treated for lacerations, bruises and simple fractures with no deaths. Investigators have focused on deteriorated steel support girders as the cause of the accident.(Independent Tribune)(1-15-2003)

Bridge Collapse Lawsuit News: Lawyers representing the victims of a Lowe's Motor Speedway bridge collapse met with defense attorneys in Cabarrus County court Friday to schedule the next round of lawsuits. Superior Court Judge Erwin Spainhour presided over Friday's status conference, in which more than 30 lawyers representing those involved in the accident agreed with defense lawyers representing Speedway Motor Sports and the company that made the concrete walkway to set four cases for trial Jan. 20, 2003. A 15-foot-high walkway, one of two that spanned U.S. 29 connecting Lowe's Motor Speedway to the parking lot, collapsed the night of Saturday, May, 20, 2000. The bridge buckled that night after a race and sent almost 100 people to the hospital. No one was killed. Investigators had focused their investigation on deteriorated steel support girders as the cause of the accident. January’s proceedings will be held in Mecklenburg County where the cases are pending.(Independent Tribune)(9-27-2002)

Some suits settled in 2000 (not 1999) speedway bridge collapse: A dozen people injured two years ago in the collapse of a pedestrian bridge at Lowe's Motor Speedway settled their civil lawsuits Thursday morning in Mecklenburg (N.C.) Superior Court. They received an undisclosed amount of money from the defendants in the case, which included the speedway, its parent company, the contractor that designed the bridge's support beams and a New Jersey firm that made a chemical additive blamed for corroding steel cables inside the beams. No one involved would disclose which defendant or defendants paid money, or how much. Since about 72 people filed civil lawsuits, that leaves about 50 more with suits still pending. When the walkway over U.S. 29 fell on May 20, 2000 (not 1999), 107 people were injured. No one admitted liability in the settlement.(Charlotte Observer)(8-15-2002)

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