Woman sues city, United alleging she was hurt by faulty automatic doors at O'Hare

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A woman sued the city of Chicago and United Airlines Monday alleging she suffered “severe and permanent” injuries last year when she was struck by malfunctioning automatic doors at O’Hare International Airport.

In June of last year, Marilyn Horton was walking through a doorway in the United departure terminal when two sets of doors opened and “violently closed on her,” according to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court.

The lawsuit alleges that a defective sensor caused the mishap, which resulted in a lumbar and pelvic fracture that required Horton to undergo surgery. Horton — who continues to suffer “great pain and discomfort” and has been unable to pursue her previous career path — is now on the hook for her related medical costs, the lawsuit claims.

The suit holds that United and the city acted carelessly and negligently by failing to properly maintain the doors and the area and failing to have the doors and sensors inspected regularly. It adds that the airline and the city failed to warn passengers that the doors were malfunctioning and failed to take the doors out of service when they did.

Horton is seeking $50,000 from both the city and United.

Representatives for the city’s law department and United said they couldn’t comment because they hadn’t been served with the lawsuit.