MOSCOW, February 20 (RIA Novosti) - A Moscow district court Tuesday granted a claim for damages from a minor who lost one of her parents when the roof of a water park on the city's outskirts collapsed three years ago.
The plaintiff, Viktoria Smirnova, will be paid 1 million rubles ($38,150) for her mother, who was among 28 people killed in the February 14, 2004 roof collapse at the Transvaal water park, in southern Moscow.
The accident also injured more than 100.
"On the day of the tragedy, Viktoria Smirnova was visiting the water park together with her 23-year-old mother, who was pregnant with her second child. The girl sustained psychological trauma as well as injuries - she saw her mother die in front of her," defense lawyer Igor Trunov said.
The Cheryomushkinsky Court ordered that the plaintiff be paid 700,000 rubles ($26,700) in moral damages, and receive 125,325 rubles ($4,780) in a one-off payout and 3,487 rubles ($130) in monthly payments to compensate for the material losses inflicted.
The girl's grandfather, who is acting as her custodian, will be paid 500,000 rubles ($19,000).
The damages are payable by the company that serviced the building, Yevropeiskiye Tekhnologii i Servis.
According to Trunov, the court is considering 12 more suits from dependants of Transvaal collapse victims, including from five children orphaned by the tragedy, which was blamed on a flawed architectural design.
Architect Nodar Kancheli faced trial in connection with the collapse, but charges against him were dropped last September under the terms of a parliamentary amnesty. He maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.
