Dive Brief:

• The families of the six people killed and the 13 injured in a 2013 Philadelphia building collapse reached a $227 million settlement agreement Wednesday with building owner Richard Basciano and The Salvation Army, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer.   
• The parties agreed to the amount during the damages phase of the civil trial, eliminating the possibility of a significant punitive damages award. An arbitrator will decide how to split the money between the 19 plaintiffs.
• The judge said this case marked the longest civil trial in Philadelphia history — 17 weeks — as well as the largest personal injury settlement in the state's history.

Dive Insight:

Defendant Plato Marinakos Jr., the architect overseeing the demolition of Basciano's building, reportedly maxed out his liability insurance and couldn't financially participate in the settlement. Contractors Griffin Campbell and Sean Benschop are serving prison terms for their roles in the collapse. The victims' families and the collapse survivors filed the civil suit after the previous criminal trial.

A jury found all defendants guilty earlier this month in the liability portion of the trial and determined that The Salvation Army bore 75% of the blame because it had received warnings that the building could collapse but did not tell its employees or customers. The jury divided up the remaining responsibility between Basciano (5%), his company STB Investments (13%), Marinakos (5%), Campbell (1%) and Benschop (1%).

Benschop, who was operating the excavation equipment, admitted that he had been taking Percocet and smoking marijuana on the day of the accident. Campbell  insisted that Marinakos was to blame and demanded a jury trial. He was found guilty after Benschop, who pleaded guilty, testified against him.

After the collapse, Philadelphia tightened up its demolitions permit policy. At the time of the accident, the city issued permits without asking for plans or verifying demolition contractor qualifications.