Almost four years after a 10,000-pound scaffolding tumbled from the John Hancock Center — crushing cars and people below — the companies being sued for negligence have agreed to pay out almost $77 million.
Nearly all of that — $75 million — will go to the families of four people who were killed and to others injured in the March 2002 tragedy.
Attorneys Robert Clifford and Thomas Demetrio criticized the companies involved in the work on the Hancock building, saying they compromised safety to save time and money.
The accident killed northwest Indiana natives and cousins Melissa Cook and Jill Nelson, along with Nanatta Cameron and Peggy Whittaker, both of Chicago.
