A Two-Lane Pothole, a Rollover on I-55, and a $60 Million Settlement

On August 30, 2022, Sarah Grasser was driving north on Interstate 55 near Renwick Road in Will County, Illinois. The highway was under construction. Another driver swerved to avoid a pothole that spanned two lanes and ran several inches deep. That vehicle struck Grasser's car, which rolled over and came to rest in a ditch beside the road.

Grasser, 31, of Minooka, suffered a spinal injury at the T-12 vertebra. The damage left her paraplegic. She lost sensation in her legs and now uses a wheelchair. A single moment on a reopened construction lane changed how she would live every day after it.

Clifford Law Offices represented Grasser and built the case around the work zone itself. The pothole, the firm argued, was not bad luck. Crews had milled the pavement too deeply, then reopened every lane to traffic without proper repairs, posted warnings, or reduced speed limits. The lawsuit named a long roster of contractors and engineers tied to the project: 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. The plaintiff's attorneys alleged that these companies failed to inspect and maintain the work zone and did not meet Illinois Department of Transportation safety standards.

"A diligent inspection process has to take place from the moment that the lanes are reopened to the public after construction," said partner Bradley Cosgrove, who handled the case with partners Charles Haskins and Joseph Murphy. The firm's position was that someone responsible for the road should have found the hazard and closed or fixed the lanes before a driver had to make a split-second choice at highway speed.

The case had been pending for more than three years when the defendants agreed to pay $60 million in April 2026, settling in Cook County Circuit Court shortly before trial was set to begin. Because the case resolved by agreement rather than a jury verdict, there was no award to appeal or reduce. The money is structured to cover Grasser's long-term medical care and the daily living needs that come with permanent paralysis.