CLEVELAND (WJW) — The FOX 8 I-Team has uncovered a $22 million settlement in a lawsuit over a teen critically hurt when she fell inside a Warehouse District bar on St. Patrick’s Day 2017. And court records show lawyers found the bar tried to cover up what really happened.
Three years ago, 20-year-old Megan Keefe fell from the second floor of Spirits, a club on West 6th Street in Cleveland. She hit her head on a granite counter and she suffered permanent injuries.
Now court documents reveal a civil lawsuit filed against the bar owners and others has ended with a breathtaking settlement.
The court records also show how lawyers for Keefe’s family say she fell through a broken railing, and the bar tried to hide that.
In the lawsuit, attorney Craig Bashein wrote Spirits knew the railings were “hazardous, dangerous” but they “did nothing.”
In a court deposition, the attorney questioned Spirits’ owner.
“You have no idea how it happened?” he asked. “I have no idea,” the owner said.
Depositions show a fire investigator also found workers at the bar fixed the broken railing right after the accident and before investigators got there.
Battalion Chief Greg Lightcap said, “It had come loose and a manager put it back into place.”
Bashein questioned the battalion chief during the deposition: “And the manager put it back in place before you could visualize the scene as it existed before Megan was injured?”
“Correct,” Lightcap said.
Cell phone video captured workers dragging Keefe outside moments after the fall as a witness could be heard saying, “She needs an ambulance.”
Again, the civil suit got settled before going to trial. The fall left Keefe hurt so critically, she’s never expected to be able to care for herself again. This settlement also includes money for a trust fund. Money to help cover medical expenses and the cost of other services in the years ahead.
The young woman had been drinking underage. But, her lawyers found Spirits did not have an occupancy permit. So, in depositions, they also raised questions about why anyone was inside.
The settlement and records reveal the untold story behind a catastrophic fall and what lawyers considered a cover-up.
That bar is no longer open.
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