Three people who were on the Fern Hollow Bridge when it collapsed a year ago filed lawsuits against the City of Pittsburgh on Friday alleging negligence for its alleged failure to maintain the structure.

Velva and Tyrone Perry were in his red Ford F-150 pickup truck about 6:40 a.m. on Jan. 28, 2022, driving across the 447-foot span that connects Squirrel Hill to Regent Square when it collapsed. The bridge, the Perrys and other motorists fell more than 100 feet into a wooded gorge below.

Their suit, filed in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court, includes only claims for negligence.

The bridge, built in 1970, carried about 14,000 cars daily, according to PennDOT.

It had been rated a D+ by civil engineers in 2018 and was considered to be structurally deficient.

The collapse is the subject of an extensive investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, which, on Thursday, released thousands of pages of documents related to the bridge’s structure and original construction — although no analysis or explanation for the collapse.

Also filing a lawsuit Friday were Thomas and Sara Bench. Thomas Bench was on the bridge when it collapsed, the lawsuit said. His wife is named as a plaintiff for lack of consortium.

The two lawsuits, both filed Friday by the law firm Swensen & Perer, are nearly identical.

They cite inspection reports on the bridge from 1997, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021.

“Each of the above bridge inspection reports were conveyed to the city, meaning that for at least 25 years, the city was aware of the need to address and repair drainage problems on the bridge, as well as the advanced and progressive deterioration of the bridge legs and cross bracing between the bridge legs,” the lawsuits said.

The city failed to adequately address necessary maintenance and repairs, which, the attorneys said, negates any immunity from suit officials could claim.

A spokeswoman for the city said Friday evening that she could not comment on pending litigation.

According to the complaint filed by the Benches, Thomas Bench suffered a severe back sprain, shoulder pain, emotional trauma and mental anguish. He also has had prolonged disability and recovery, the lawsuit said.

In the Perrys’ complaint, it said that Velva Perry sustained fractures to her vertebrae, severe emotional distress and mental anguish, as well.

Tyrone Perry, the lawsuit said, had a burst fracture of a vertebra and a transverse fracture, as well as suffering emotional distress.

Four other people, including the driver of the Port Authority bus that was on the bridge when it collapsed, have also filed suit — or a notice to sue.

Those cases have all been consolidated.

The brand new bridge built to replace the one that collapsed opened to traffic on Dec. 22, less than a year later. The new span cost $25.3 million, with construction starting in the spring.

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