LINCOLN PARK — A business owner is being sued for negligence after stairs collapsed at one of the buildings he owns in Lincoln Park, severely injuring a woman.
Richard Sykes, who owns the apartment building at 2052 N. Cleveland Ave. in Lincoln Park, is named in the lawsuit filed by Cavanagh Law Group. Sykes, who also owns Bombastic Cafe, 3732 N. Southport Ave. in Lakeview, declined to comment.
The incident at the center of the suit occurred Oct. 12 at the Cleveland Avenue apartment building, according to the lawsuit.
Mai Meyers, who worked as a nanny in the building, stepped on an exterior staircase and it collapsed, causing her to fall 12-14 feet, attorney Tim Cavanagh said.
“She was walking up the external metal stairway, and the stairs just disappeared under her feet,” Cavanagh said. “Her lower spine basically disintegrated. She let out this big scream, and the people in the building heard her and the collapse, and they got her an ambulance.”
The lawsuit alleges Sykes failed to maintain the building and didn’t ensure it was kept in a reasonably safe condition. He didn’t repair the unstable stairwell, warn tenants it was dangerous or restrict access to the area, according to the lawsuit.
“The steel staircase is entirely rusted out, and it’s obvious to anyone who owns or maintains the premises that there’s a real problem,” Cavanagh said. “The landlord didn’t keep the stairway in compliance with Chicago’s municipal code, and because he didn’t, my client has a lifelong back injury.”
Meyers remains hospitalized in the intensive care unit at Illinois Masonic Medical Center because she experienced complications following spinal surgery, Cavanagh said.
“In a split second, her health was taken away from her because someone didn’t maintain the property,” Cavanagh said.
The 49-year-old, who lives on the Northwest Side, looked after two young children who live with their parents in the building, Cavanagh said. She rode her bike to and from work every day, traveling 7 miles each way, her attorney said.
“When I met her in the hospital, her first concern was the kids,” Cavanagh said. “She kept talking about the babies, and she was just so grateful she didn’t have the two young kids in her arms when she fell.”
Meyers will likely be impacted by her injuries for the rest of her life, Cavanagh said.
“The injuries are just devastating; she’s had screws and plates put into her back,” Cavanagh said. “She’s in an intense amount of pain, and her livelihood has been taken away from her.”
Cavanagh said he is trying to find out if other companies were responsible for maintaining the building and if any engineers had examined the stairwell recently.
Cook County Judge Scott D. McKenna issued an emergency protective order requiring Sykes and his insurance company, Seneca Insurance Company, to preserve the evidence in the stairwell.
Sykes has been cooperative and allowed consulting experts to examine the site, Cavanagh said.
“Hopefully this encourages landlords and people who own their own homes to get things fixed when there’s something that needs maintenance and not to push it off,” Cavanagh said. “People’s lives and livelihoods depend on it.”
Support Local News!
Subscribe to Block Club Chicago, an independent, 501(c)(3), journalist-run newsroom. Every dime we make funds reporting from Chicago’s neighborhoods. Already subscribe? Click here to gift a subscription, or you can support Block Club with a tax-deductible donation.
Listen to the Block Club Chicago podcast:
