KCP&L Pays $12 Million to Settle Burn Injury Case
The Kansas City Star - April 26, 2003
Joe Lambe
The Kansas City Star
4/26/2003
A Kansas City woman who suffered severe burns and lost her arm and leg from a downed power line settled her lawsuit Friday for $12 million.
Melanie Monroe, 35, grinned weakly from her wheelchair as she left a Jackson County courtroom after Kansas City Power & Light Co., its parent company, Great Plains Energy, Inc., and parts supplier Hubbell Power Systems, Inc. paid the settlement.
“It was a godsend,” Monroe said of the settlement. “But I’d give it all back if I could have my arm and leg back.”
Monroe was injured Feb. 2, 2002. Monroe and her family were loading laundry into her car when a power line snapped and fell on Monroe, her husband and her two children.
The line burned Monroe over half her body, and doctors had to amputate her right arm and leg to save her life. The other family members suffered electrical shocks, but not as severely.
On Friday, the three companies paid the settlement — $11.5 million to Melanie Monroe, $400,00 to her husband and $50,000 to each of her two children, ages 10 and 3.
The Circuit Court lawsuit contended that the line fell because KCP&L improperly secured it with a clamp intended for temporary repairs. The company contended the line fell because the connection had been weakened by an ice storm.
The companies assumed no liability in the settlement. KCP&L and Great Plains spokesman Tom Robinson said the companies played no role in the unfortunate event.
The attorney for Hubbell Power Systems of Centralia, MO., declined to comment.
Anita Porte Robb, attorney for the Monroe family, praised the companies for a quick settlement that she said gives her client a future.
Before the accident, Monroe worked in data entry for a bank. Her burns were so serious that she has not been able to use prosthetic limbs, Robb said. Robb praised her client for her “very strong spirit.”
“She hopes to walk again with a prosthetic leg,” Robb said.
Officially, a Missouri Public Service Commission report lists Monroe as the only person who suffered electrical injuries as a result of the massive 2002 ice storm.
Last Christmas Eve, Monroe’s injuries prompted hundreds of strangers to build a 500-square-feet bedroom addition that was accessible to her wheelchair. The home’s hallways were widened so she could tuck her 3-year-old son into bed.
In December, Monroe cried for joy at the volunteers’ generosity and in sadness for what she had been through — months of operations, therapies and pain.
What helped her through it was her son’s kisses and her daughter’s attention and love, Monroe said then. On Friday, they were with her in court.
Monroe’s children are her best therapy, Robb said. “They give her constant love.”
