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Chippewa County (WQOW) - There's a major development Wednesday in a series of lawsuits filed over the Chippewa River boat crash that killed four men.
Three members of a wedding party died when their boat collided with another boat last summer in Chippewa County. The driver of the other boat also died.
Now, WQOW News 18 has learned a tentative settlement has been reached in the four wrongful death lawsuits filed.
Attorney Chuck Bye, who represents one victim's family, says the settlement includes all lawsuits that have been filed and anyone else who would want to sue.
Bye says all insurance companies involved agreed to pay their maximum limits on the liability policies held by Link Rec, which owned one of the boats, and Robert Romanshek who was driving the other boat.
Negotiations will now take place to determine how the pool of settlement money will be divided. He says that will take some time, but he expects the settlement to be finalized this year. Bye says the settlement will help bring closure to those who lost their loved ones in the crash.
He says another reason they settled is that state law has capped how much plaintiffs can receive in wrongful death lawsuits. He also says one of the insurance policies is written in such a way that the cost of any payout is reduced by the cost of defense attorneys.
That means the longer a case drags on, less money is available to the plaintiffs.
The Chippewa County district attorney is currently reviewing the case and will determine whether criminal charges will be filed.
