Milka Overton is very uncomfortable with idea of riding a CTA el anytime soon - and with good reason. The 26 year old Transportation Security Administration employee was traumatized in March24’s CTA elevated train crash at O’Hare International Airport. It was not the first time that the young Chicago mother had experienced panic on the el. Overton was a passenger previously on a Blue Line train that caught fire.
Latherow Law Office filed a lawsuit against the CTA on Overton’s behalf for injuries sustained in the wreck that sent the train off the rails and up an airport escalator.
Although Overton was not injured in that incident, Bridget Duignan of Latherow Law Office explained that because of the earlier fire, combined with the disastrous events of her Monday morning commute to work, Overton has lost all confidence in the ability of the CTA to transport riders in safety. In her words, she is now “petrified” at the thought of riding an el train.
Overton is scheduled for tests to determine the extent of her injuries because she is dealing with severe pain. Her work as a TSA officer involves heavy lifting, something she is currently unable to do. “She wants to work,” shared Duignan, “and is meeting with her boss to discuss the possibility of a light duty assignment.”
The young mom is dealing with a lot of repercussive fear, according to Duignan, who told how Overton kept referring to the fact that the escalator that the train smashed onto is “normally full of people.”
Jerry Latherow, lead counsel at Latherow Law Office, is anxious to help Overton, as well as other passengers from the same accident that his firm is representing. “What it boils down to is the fact that the Chicago Transit Authority had a responsibility to keep its passengers safe, and these riders had every expectation that the CTA would do so. This incident illustrates a failure in that task.”
Overton, suffering physical injuries, severe pain, and emotional distress, is seeking a court judgment against the CTA in excess of Cook County jurisdictional limits.
