Two state judges have reportedly reached a deal on Friday that would compensate the victims of the Minneapolis bridge collapse which occurred on 1 August, 2007 and killed 13 people injuring 145 others, The Associated Press reported.

The lawmakers - Rep. Ryan Winkler and Sen. Ron Latz – said the deal was reached at a late hour on Friday when the House and Senate conference committee members agreed.

According to Chris Messerly, the attorney of the many victims of the collapse said the $38 million plan deals with a key problem of negotiations: whether to recognize the state's liability limit by capping awards to individual victims.

The victim’s attorney added that in accordance with the agreement, the victims of the Minneapolis bridge collapse would get up to $400,000 each. The committee members also agreed on a $12.6 million supplemental fund for the worst injured.
 
The main factor which led the Minneapolis disaster were the undersized gusset plates in the bridge, the National Transportation and Safety Board said in a statement released in January,2008. The plates were at half the thickness they should have been due to a design error, said NTSB Chairman Mark Rosenker.

When the bridge collapsed, the state had a $1 million-per-incident liability cap in effect. After the incident, Sen. Latz proposed an amendment to enable the victims to sue the state or enter into settlement talks for up to $300,000 each. The amendment had no success because it would have put the victims through a long legal process and left those suffering from serious wounds with uncovered costs.