Manhole on Orlando’s Illinois Street Still Not Repaired

It seems that a manhole cover located along the 1200 block of Orlando’s Illinois Street has torn the bottom off of yet another vehicle.  This latest incident happened to a woman named Shirley Wang as she was navigating her Mini Cooper down Illinois Street.  She reports that there were a few garbage cans placed further out in the street than expected and she maneuvered her car around them.  Unfortunately, in her attempt at redirection, she drove her car directly over a manhole cover that many people claim to be far higher off of the asphalt than is safe.  Wang said that she heard a loud scraping and grating sound along the bottom of her car.  When she exited the vehicle to check on the situation, she saw that her transmission as well as a few other parts of her vehicle had been ripped off by the manhole.   

Directed by her insurance company to take photographic evidence of the manhole and the damage, Wang began taking pictures of the site.  While she was doing this, another driver came by, rolled down their window, and told Wang that the same thing had happened to her several months prior.  This driver told Wang that she contacted the Orlando City Hall’s Risk Management Division about the issue, but had yet to receive any sort of financial compensation for the damage done to her car.  According to the driver, the damage caused by the manhole resulted in her car being totaled.

Orlando’s News 6 began to investigate the manhole situation and discovered that these two women were not the only ones whose cars were damaged or totaled by the dangerous road obstacle.  According to the investigation, at least three separate drivers filed claims after encounters with the manhole.  Only one, a claim that happened in 2015, was ever paid by the city.

When asked, the Risk Management Division of Orlando said that in the other cases they never received proper documentation relating to the accidents.  Wang relates that in her conversation with the Risk Management Division they never mentioned the documentation that she was supposed to give them.  The accident between Shirley Wang and the manhole happened nearly eight months ago.  She has yet to see any financial compensation from the city.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.