Local law firm working with 11 clients who claim to have been hurt by streetcar tracks

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Law firm Hupy & Abraham is working with 11 clients who claim they’ve been hurt by the streetcar tracks. All of the incidents happened since July 1.

Attorney Michael Hupy says seven people hurt were on motorcycles, four on bikes. All of them got a tire stuck in the tracks and fell off suffering a wide range of injuries from bone fractures, nerve damage, and even detached ligaments.

Hupy says most of the incidents happened on the tracks near Milwaukee Public Market, or on Ogden and Prospect. All of Hupy’s clients are now filing a notice of injury with the City of Milwaukee, hoping to get rembursed for their injuries.
“You have to notify The City you were injured,” Hupy said. “Then you later file a claim for damages. You list your medical bills and your wage loss, and whatever else you’ve lost, and you try to settle the case. If you can’t then you file a lawsuit.”

City Engineer Jeff Polenske says the best way to cross the tracks is at a 90 degree angle. The City has a safety campaign for The Hop called Hop Smart with videos on how to safely navigate around the tracks.

“It’s really following the basic rules of the road,” Polenske said. “Following the traffic control that’s in place, making sure at intersections if it says no right turn on red, don’t turn on red.”

Tuesday, one of the street cars was damaged when someone parked along the street car line opened their door into The Hop that was making a test run.

“What you really need to remember is to look over your shoulder, make sure there’s no oncoming traffic before you open that door,” Polenske said.

For information about The Hop safety, click here.