Insurance Coverage Litigation Lawyer & Attorney : Rivkin Radler Law Firm : Long Island, New York

The Minneapolis bridge catastrophe and reports of past evaluations of the bridge suggest that insurers will need to turn their attention to standards of structural integrity.  A recent Washington appellate decision includes an interesting discussion of this issue. Bedford, LLC v. Safeco Ins. Co., 2007 Wash. App. LEXIS 2675 (paras. 18-20).  The interesting question in future claims will be whether long-term deterioration will be considered an occurrence causing property damage.  I hope that such claims will be resisted.

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The Minneapolis bridge catastrophe is a horrible tragedy.  This terrible incident suggests, however,  insurance implications that we cannot ignore.  Reports are now being received that the bridge had been labeled "structurally deficient." The bridge had rated only a 50 out of 120 on a scale measuring structural stability.  Insurance is generally limited to damages and injuries that are "unexpected."  Policyholder advocates will argue that "structurally deficient" and 50 out of 120 are terms of art that are less ominous than the plain meaning suggests.  But, is the collapse of a "structurally deficient" bridge "unexpected"?

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