CHICAGO, Aug. 24 (Xinhua) -- Tierney Darden, partially paralyzed after a bus shelter of the Chicago O'Hare International Airport collapsed on her two years ago, was awarded 148 million U.S. dollars by a Cook County jury Wednesday.
Darden was a 24-year-old dance student with a bright future two years ago before she was seriously injured by the collapsed shelter during a storm on Aug. 2, 2015.
She took the City of Chicago to court, and was awarded 148 million U.S. dollars in a verdict by a Cook County jury on Wednesday after a 7-day trial.
"I have finally been given hope," Darden said at a news conference Thursday morning.
The verdict is reportedly the largest against the city in a personal injury case, which her lawyer Patrick Salvi described as "farely reasonable," given the fact that her spinal cord was severed, she was left paralyzed from the waist down with constant pain.
Investigators later found that the shelter collapsed because of missing bolts and corroded parts, and her lawyers accused the City of Chicago of poor maintenance.
Salvi told the press conference that Darden was the victim of "careless and reckless" management, adding his hope that all airports and cities will draw a lesson from this case.
The lawyer noted that the compensation will be paid by insurance company, not tax payers in Chicago.
