This study was motivated by the observation of unexpected cracking in an actual reinforced concrete (RC) pier cap, consisting of a pair of two secondary corbels, supported on a primary corbel with the pier at its center. The pier cap was analyzed using the strut-and-tie method (STM) by considering a three-dimensional (3-D) model. Tests were carried out on two scaled-down pier cap specimens to assess safety and serviceability performance. The load-carrying capacity of the pier cap was under-predicted by approximately 75% by STM using ACI 318 and AASHTO codes. The test results presented in the paper include evolution of cracking and strains in the steel reinforcing bars, along with load-deflection plots. It was observed that concentrating reinforcing bars near the bearings resulted in an increase in strength by approximately 8.5% without adversely affecting serviceability. In summary, STM is found to provide an effective basis for the design and detailing of such complex pier caps. Copyright © 2020, American Concrete Institute. All rights reserved, including the making of copies unless permission is obtained from the copyright proprietors. Pertinent discussion including author's closure, if any, will be published ten months from this journal's date if the discussion is received within four months of the paper's print publication.