The family of a nursing student who fell through a broken second-floor balcony at a bar has reached a $22 million settlement with the owners of the building and the now-closed business.
Megan Keefe was 20 years old when the incident happened in a Cleveland bar in 2017. She fell from a faulty second-floor balcony at Spirits Bar on St. Patrick’s Day, landing head first onto a granite countertop.
The nursing student suffered severe injuries to her face and head, resulting in catastrophic brain damage. She suffered a fractured skull, eye socket, vertebrae, and a brain bleed, but a worker ignored her need for immediate medical attention and simply pulled her outside the bar.
The employee left her on the sidewalk before emergency services finally arrived and rushed her to a hospital, the lawsuit filed by her parents stated.
The lawsuit also claimed that the bar owners knew that the railing was broken but did not do anything to protect partygoers and even attempted to cover up Keefe’s accident.
Court records described efforts by employees to cover up the accident by quickly repairing the faulty railing and wiping away the blood before investigators arrived.
Keefe, who suffered a stroke and has been diagnosed with a seizure disorder, was in a coma for a while. Three years after the accident, she still can’t do basic tasks on her own and needs around-the-clock care.
Sadly, she is not expected to fully recover from her injuries.
The owners closed the bar, and the owner of the building as well as the property manager reached a settlement with the complainants.
Dalat Realty agreed to pay $20million while the other two defendants will pay $1million each, according to Cleveland.com.
What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments section and SHARE this story with your friends and family!
Replaced!