BOSTON -- Secret settlement talks between the family of the woman killed in the collapse of a Big Dig tunnel ceiling and those responsible for the construction failed this week, the Boston Globe reported Saturday.

The two sides are reportedly millions of dollars apart and the breakdown makes it more likely the lawsuit will head to court.

Milena Del Valle was killed in last year's collapse, as she rode as a passenger through the tunnel. Her family has sued the companies that designed and built the tunnel ceiling, claiming they were negligent.

The Globe reported the defendants made at least one settlement offer, but it was rejected by lawyers for the Del Valle family who said the offer was too low.

"There was quite a significant discrepancy between the two numbers," one state official told the newspaper. "There was a big gap."

Del Valle's husband and three children have sued 15 companies that designed and built the tunnel and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which managed the project.

The family is reported to be asking for a payment of hundreds of millions of dollars.