Bradley M. Cosgrove, Charles R. Haskins, and Joseph T. Murphy, partners at Clifford Law Offices, obtained a $60 million result on Monday, April 13, 2026, for a woman who was rendered a paraplegic on an unsafe highway that was under construction.
The case was settled shortly before trial on behalf of Sarah Grasser, 31, of Minooka, who suffered severe and permanent injuries to her spine at T-12 that left her a paraplegic. The tragedy occurred on August 30, 2022, on northbound Interstate 55 near Renwick Road in Will County, which was under construction at the time.
A driver swerved to avoid what experts described as a two-lane-wide pothole that was several inches deep. That driver’s vehicle struck Grasser’s vehicle, causing it to roll over and eventually come to rest in a ditch on the side of the highway. Defendants included K-Five Construction Corporation, D. Construction, Gallagher Asphalt Corporation, R.M. Chin and Associates, AECOM, ATLAS Engineering Group, Traffic Control and Protection, TSI Traffic Control, Maintenance Coating Company, and Work Zone Safety, Inc., which left the roadway in an unsafe condition and in violation of Illinois Department of Transportation safety standards.
“This incident was preventable,” Cosgrove said following the settlement. “The roadway was left in a condition that presented a clear hazard to drivers; a significant pothole created a serious danger in an active travel lane. Under those conditions, the roadway should not have been open to traffic without appropriate safeguards or corrective measures. Instead, despite multiple entities being involved in the construction and inspection of the site, the roadway remained in use while exhibiting conditions that posed a foreseeable risk to motorists. As a result, Sarah sustained catastrophic injuries that will impact her for the remainder of her life.”
The pothole was not an isolated occurrence, but the result of a series of construction and safety failures. Defendants milled too deeply into the structural layers of the roadway, weakening the pavement, while also disregarding the planned staggered milling sequence by milling all three lanes to a full five-inch depth and reopening them simultaneously to traffic. Despite visible defects in the road, the lanes were reopened to live traffic, including 65 mph travel, without adequate repair, warning, or speed reduction. “Defendants failed to properly inspect, monitor and maintain the work zone throughout the day, and failed to fulfill their contractual and safety obligations to protect the public. Collectively, these failures created a dangerous roadway condition that posed a foreseeable risk to motorists,” Cosgrove said.
The case was set for trial in Cook County on April 13, 2026.
“This settlement will help Sarah cope with all of the physical, mental, and emotional needs for decades to come,” Cosgrove said. “She led a normal life until that fateful evening. Had people been doing their jobs properly, she would be enjoying life with her friends and family today.”
For further information, contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell) or pammenaker@cliffordlaw.com.
Case: Grasser v. K-Five Construction Corp., et. al., No. 2023 L 0277