Woman settles with Spokane for $275,000 after falling into tree grate in 2020

A local woman will receive a $275,000 settlement from the city of Spokane more than three years after she said she slipped into a downtown grate covering tree roots and suffered serious injuries.

The Spokane City Council unanimously approved the settlement agreement Monday.

Karen Fischer was walking on Wall Street on the west side of the Bank of America tower on Sept. 18, 2020, when her foot slipped into a tree grate and was injured, according to a lawsuit filed in May. Both the city of Spokane and Redstone Holdings, a Canadian-based real estate company that owns the Bank of America building, were named in the suit.

According to city law, the owner of a property adjacent to a street tree is responsible for the maintenance of the tree and grates covering its roots. If the property owner fails to do so, the city can perform maintenance at the owner’s expense.

The suit, originally filed with the law office of Dustin Deissner and later handled by the office of Geoffrey D. Swindler, alleged that the negligence of both the city and Redstone Holdings led to Fischer’s injuries.

“I want to compliment the city for doing the right thing,” Swindler said in a brief interview. “Their attorney did a good job, and this was a good resolution.”

Swindler added that Fischer had also reached a settlement agreement with Redstone Holdings.