Bayshore parking garage collapse; woman waiting for insurance money

GLENDALE, Wis. - It was a regular workday until her car was crushed by fallen concrete. Four months later, Cassandra Ploeger is still waiting for someone to take responsibility.

On Feb. 23, amid crews clearing heavy snow from its top deck, a section of a Bayshore parking garage in Glendale collapsed. A piece of the concrete landed on Ploeger’s 2008 Hyundai Santa Fe.

"(My car) was just underneath a mountain of snow," Ploeger recalled.

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After the collapse, responders rushed to verify no one was inside the two cars that suffered the brunt of the damage. Thankfully, no one was. Ploeger was working at The Pet Apothecary on Silver Spring Drive when she got a call from a police officer.

"She said there was a partial collapse at the Bayshore parking structure, and your car has been damaged," said Ploeger.

Weeks later, Ploeger got a closer look at her vehicle while collecting her possessions.

"I’m like, shaking glass and debris off my belongings," said Ploeger. "Just a little traumatic."

Ploeger said she’s still without a car, and she’s gotten zero insurance money.

"I was OK with it being difficult for a little bit," said Ploeger. "It’s just kind of taking a long time."

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Ploeger said she only has liability auto insurance. She filed a claim with Markel American Insurance Co., the commercial liability insurance carrier for Cypress Ventures LLC – which operates Bayshore. A third party adjuster assigned by Markel American Insurance Co. responded to Ploeger that they "were unable to find any evidence of negligence or legal liability." The letter advised contacting the insurance carrier for the snow removal company, Winter Services LLC. Ploeger said she filed a claim.

"They’re like, it’s not denied," said Ploeger. "It’s just kind of in a waiting period."

Western National Insurance Group is the insurance adjuster for Winter Services LLC.

"The incident continues to be actively investigated," said Steve Norman, senior VP of communications for Western National Insurance. "We have no further comment at this time."

Contact 6 reached out to Bayshore, Cypress Ventures and Winter Services LLC seeking comment. None responded. Instead, Contact 6 consulted with attorney Emil Ovbiagele of OVB Law and Consulting. Ovbiagele is not representing Ploeger but does handle insurance claims cases.

"You could have a variety of situations play out," said Ovbiagele. "If liability is disputed, then we are talking legal action."

Ovbiagele said whoever is responsible for the collapse may not only foot the bill for the losses of impacted car owners – but for the structure’s repair.

"Things don’t tend to wrap up pretty quickly. Especially with complex claims like this," said Ovbiagele.

Since the parking garage collapsed, questions have swirled about the reason why it occurred: Was the snow piled in one of the weakest areas of the structure? Why doesn’t the garage have the snow chute shown in a building plan, that could have been used to dump snow into a truck below? And, should state law be changed to require more inspections of private parking structures?

"At this point, I really have no idea," said Ploeger.

Ploeger just hopes someone will take responsibility. She said she recently graduated from college and has been borrowing cars to get to work.

"I haven’t had much time to build up funds, so I don’t really have a back-up plan in regard to my car," said Ploeger.

Until recently, Ploeger’s car was still inside the partially collapsed structure beneath a tarp. She said, last week, Bayshore towed her car to another location, so it could continue with repair work.