A Portland woman who says she never even saw the pothole coming may be walking away with what could be the heftiest roadway damage settlement in the city’s history. Gillian Conroy was driving along Southwest Capitol Highway at the speed limit when her car struck a pothole so severe that the impact launched her head into the roof of her vehicle. What happened next was not a minor inconvenience.
The jolt left her with a traumatic brain injury, tinnitus, and a torn rotator cuff, and according to her lawsuit, she has not been able to return to her career in technical sales at Intel because the cognitive effects of her injuries prevent her from focusing on a computer screen.
That is a long way from a cracked wheel or a busted alignment, and it illustrates something that Portland drivers may want to pay close attention to. Potholes are not just a nuisance that costs a few hundred dollars at the tire shop. When road conditions deteriorate far enough, the resulting hazards can produce injuries just as serious as those from a traffic collision, and the legal exposure for municipalities that ignore them can be just as steep…