I Was Assaulted and Beaten on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) subway Red Line —Looking for Advice on Suing My Attacker

TW & NSFW

Hi everyone,

I had a traumatic incident on the CTA Redline and wanted to share my experience and get some advice on what to do next. This happened in at the end of summer of 2024. It’s a bit of a long read but I will try my best to explain the details:

  This incident occurred in the morning. I was running late to work but I didn't think much of it. I remember sitting next to a woman a striking up a conversation. Little did I know, she would be the only one to help me when the incident unfolded.
  We noticed a man acting quite strangely and causing a disturbance. He was tall and bald and was wearing a black shirt with some sort of design on it (I can't quite remember). He may have had mental health issues but I can't confirm that. For a very brief amount of time, he was just mumbling to himself but wasn't bothering anyone. Eventually sporadically moving around the train car. This is when he started "air boxing". As in he was pretending to punch an opponent that was not there. He then escalated his behavior to punching random objects particularly the strap loops above that people normally hang onto.
  It was at this point that I probably should have taken the hint and moved away to another car or something. But I figured if I keep still he would leave me alone.
  I got off at Sox and 35th station at about 10:15am and so did the man who was my soon to be attacker. I was heading up 

I don’t think he was seeking me out initially but rather he was just looking for someone to fight.
We made eye contact, and I assume that’s what set him off.
He swung his fist and and hit me on the right side of my face. At first I tried to brush it off and go on about my day. I didn’t want to fight him but unfortunately the attacker, had other plans and continued to threaten me.
I saw him reach for a pink canister and I instantly realized it was pepper spray. Next thing I knew, I was being sprayed in the face and punched simultaneously.
I wasn’t sure what to do. I noticed that surprisingly (and thankfully), the train hadn’t departed yet.
Thinking quickly, I dove onto the floor the train all while I was still being attacked. As a last ditch defense mechanism, I curled up into a ball and tried to remain motionless while protecting myself. It was at this point that I couldn’t actually see what was happening to me but I was later told by the witness who helped me that the attacker continued to kick me while I was on the floor. He also proceeded to empty the rest of his pepper spray can on me. Finally after that, the attacker left.
Up until that point, I had never been pepper sprayed before. My vision didn’t immediately go out but I knew I only had limited time before it did.
I tried my best to ask for help but I don’t think my words were very clear as I was panicked.
I remember all of the other bystanders looking terrified and backing away from me when I tried to ask for help. This was the first time I had experienced the “bystander effect.” I’m not blaming the bystanders for not intervening as I can empathize with them.
I am surprised that the CTA conductors never interviened the attack or at the very least assisted me to get medical attention.
Luckily that same woman who I sat next to earlier decided to step in and help me and I will always be thankful for that.
That was the point I went blind. From here, I can only recall details based on what I heard in the moment and what was told by my witness afterwards.
Apparently I was bleeding from one of my ears which she helped clean. She also guided me off of the platform and onto the street. I had the option of being treated on-site but the paramedics determined that the best option was to take me to the hospital. On the way there, I slowly regained my vision. I was able to contact my mother while she was at work and was distraught about the situation.
Once I arrived at the hospital, I was brought in with a wheelchair. I was then met with a nurse that asked me a bunch of questions about the incident and my condition. At that point I was still quite shaken up so I was unable to answer his questions as efficiently as I wanted.
Shortly after, an officer spoke with me as I was awaiting medical treatment. To be fair to him, he seemed like he wanted to help but there wasn’t much he could do. He then gave me a case number and a contact number for a detective. Shortly after, I received a CT scan, an x-ray, and s vision test. They wanted to put a device around my eyes that administers the solution pepper spray attacks automatically. But because I have trouble dealing with things being put in my eyes, the nurse decided to put the solution in via manual drip. Next, I was met by the doctor informed me that I had periorbital hematoma which is basically a black eye as a result of being hit. He also instructed me to wash my clothes several times over when I got home. It was then that I realized literally everything I was wearing was covered in pepper spray. Even my ID was still so full of pepper spray liquid, it was nearly submerged. I couldn’t believe it.
As I was getting ready to leave the hospital, I noticed a woman who was also on the train during the attack who was waiting to be treated. She had an oxygen tank with her. Apparently she had inhaled pepper spray fumes during the incident which caused her to have an asthma attack of some sort. What happened to me was tragic but it also makes me sad to think that there were others that were harmed by such a senseless act of violence as well.
I reported everything to the Chicago Police Department and spoke with a detective. When I initially contacted the detective who works on cases like these, I was informed that the entire incident was caught on the CTA’s surveillance cameras. I was also told that the CTA has cameras both on the inside of the trains and the outside as well. So I assume that the footage was caught from multiple angles.
After some time passed, I contacted the detective again who then informed me that the police do in fact have access to the footage of what happened to me. Not only that but apparently, the police also know who the attacker is. The detective informed me that the man who attacked me tapped his card to get on the train and tapped his card out at Sox and 35th (the station where I was attacked) as he left the scene. Based on that, they came to the conclusion that he probably lives in the area.
What shocked me more is that the detective said since my incident, he’s apparently attacked someone else as well. The detective didn’t tell me exactly how he attacked another person but I presume it was the same way he attacked me. I was also informed that the police department put up flyers in the surrounding area so that others could identify him as well. When I asked for the footage of the man attacking me and copies of the flyers that the police department made, I was denied both.
I had a feeling that pursuing a case like this would be difficult so I, fortunately, I took pictures of my police report, as well as me being in the hospital and receiving care. I also took pictures of the damage around my eye, and the pepper spray solution that was leftover on my id and clothes as proof.
Aside from wanting to sue the attacker himself, I was also wondering if it was possible to sue the CTA and/or CPD for negligence given what happened to me and how it was handled following after. But as one may expect, not having the necessary evidence provided makes it hard to take legal action.
I am from out of state and was living in Chicago at the time for a seasonal job so I’m not too familiar with how the efficiency of jurisdiction works here. I don’t want to say anything negative about the CTA/CPD but everything about this situation is so bizarre from the man who attacked me unprovoked, to the CTA conductors not intervening, to the CPD not giving me the footage of the incident or the flyers that they supposedly put up. I’m also quite baffled that the lawyers in Chicago I have tried to contact have not seemed interested in taking this case up so far. This seems like it would be a cakewalk for them.

  So to sum up: 

• The attack was completely unprovoked and left me and others needing hospital treatment.

• I went through all stages of grief. And I was left dealing with the aftermath physically, and will probably need mental treatment in the form of therapy or something similar now and in the future.

• I’m thankful that the bystander stepped up to help me. The CTA conductor didn’t intervene or assist me afterwards. I’m also lucky that the train didn’t depart while the attack happened. My guess is that had the train left during the attack, the man probably would have pushed me onto the tracks themselves and I may have been killed by the track electricity or another oncoming train.

• The Chicago Police Department knows who the man responsible is as he has attacked others and will probably continue to attack other people.

• The Chicago Police Department also refuses to give me the footage of what happened nor copies of the flyers they made.

• I have tried contacting a many different lawyers in Illinois and the Chicago area already but they do not seem to be willing to take on the case.

• I am posting on here because I don’t know where else to turn.

  If anyone has gone through something similar or has tips on how to get the footage/flyers or move forward with a civil case against the individual, and/or the Chicago Transit Authority/Chicago Police Department, I’d really appreciate your input. Thank you so much for reading. Stay safe.

Location: Chicago