Chicago City Council approves $2 million settlement for woman injured by falling light pole downtown in 2019
CHICAGO (CBS) -- The Chicago City Council on Wednesday voted to pay $2 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a woman who was hit by a falling light pole in the Loop.
The incident happened in 2019, after the light pole had been rusting for years. The woman, Maya Kirk, suffered a concussion, scars, and a shattered femur.
CBS 2 has spent nearly a decade uncovering dangerous and rusting poles, and the city's failure to replace them. CBS 2's investigations have found thousands of light poles that have not ben getting desperately-needed repairs or replacements – leaving serious safety threats in neighborhoods.
The city's own private survey in 2017 and 2018 found more than 33,000 poles having a serious issue.
But somehow, the light pole survey did not find any serious concerns with the rusted ornamental lamppost at 161 N. LaSalle St., alongside the Thompson Center, that snapped at the base and struck Kirk.
Kirk was walking back to her office in the Loop after lunch on Nov. 21, 2019, when she was struck by the light pole.
"I think I was in so much pain at the time…not a lot was registering at that moment," Kirk said in a previous interview. "But I was just thinking, 'That fell on me. How am I still here?'"
Unbeknownst to Kirk, the light pole had been quietly decaying — its base rusting in the elements. Without warning, it finally gave way, landing directly on her.
"It was excruciating," Kirk said in an interview weeks after the accident. "I mean, it's something I've never experienced before."
Afterward, the city was sued for its role in failing to maintain the lamppost.
But this was not the first time a rusted pole has hurt someone. The CBS 2 Investigators have exposed case after case of light poles that are rusted severely or missing crucial bolts – and are creating a hazard for pedestrians and motorists who have been struck by them.
There have been thousands of 311 complaints of falling light poles, with hundreds causing property damage and also complaints of serious injuries – including multiple schoolchildren who have been struck by them walking to school.
The city has been sued repeatedly.
On Monday, the City Council Finance Committee approved a proposed settlement of $2 million to settle Kirk's case.
The dual-acorn-globe pole that fell on Kirk - had a decorative cover that metallurgical experts say can trap moisture from rain and snow, along with road salt that speeds up corrosion.
CBS 2's investigation found the same pole had been inspected two years before it fell on her during a Chicago Department of Transportation survey it paid a private company to conduct.
Somehow during that survey, the pole was given a passing grade and was not replaced.
"The survey noted the pole was rusting, but noted the rusting as routine," said Chicago Deputy Corporation Counsel Margaret Mendenhall Casey.
And just two weeks ago, another pole fell again. The rusted bolts on the pole were hidden by a cover along the 6000 block of West Irving Park – on the cusp of the Portage Park and Dunning communities, next to a library.
This time, the injury was to a city worker was working on the pole.
"Thing is these poles can kill somebody - and I just, I'm lucky to be alive," Kirk said in a 2019 interview.
The city paid the private company $2.5 million for the 2017-2018 light pole survey. The company supposedly examined 330,000 city light poles, and 10 percent were graded as having some sort of serious issue – including with bolts or rust.
But now, questions are coming up as to whether all the poles were examined properly.
Meanwhile, it appears Kirk's $2 million settlement is a record for a light pole injury.