Construction Accidents: Lawyer to Probe Accident

After last summer's Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse in Boston that killed one woman, Attorney General Martha Coakley was overwhelmed with ambiguous evidence and too many suspects. Coakley is bringing a new special prosecutor, Paul F. Ware, Jr., to help her decide if flaws in the design and the construction of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel ceiling were serious enough that the death of Milena Del Valle should be considered manslaughter. Ware is the chairman of one the biggest private litigation teams in the country. Coakley said that she is "committed to getting to the bottom of this."

Lawyer to probe Big Dig accident

"I think it is extremely important for this project and for the Commonwealth . . . to be able to tell the public what we determined did happen and who is responsible for it," Coakley added. Ware is a senior partner in the Boston law firm of Goodwin Procter and has gained a reputation for being a lawyer that private government officials turn to in difficult cases. Ware's predecessor in the Big Dig case, Thomas F. Reilly, said in November that the accident was a crime, but Coakley has said that it would be very difficult to prosecute anyone because the standard of proof for a conviction is so high.