A 61-year-old emergency room nurse says a man trying to bypass a CTA fare gate knocked her to the ground at the 95th Street station, leaving her with a fractured leg and a long medical recovery. Surveillance video released by her attorneys appears to show several security guards nearby as the alleged assault unfolded. The incident is now at the center of a civil lawsuit against two private security companies.
According to FOX 32 Chicago, the woman was entering the 95th Street/Dan Ryan Red Line station with her bicycle on July 10, 2025, when a man allegedly pushed past her through the fare gate without paying. Her lawyers say the surveillance footage shows guards standing together and talking while the woman was knocked down.
The lawsuit does not identify the alleged fare jumper, and it is unclear whether he was ever arrested or charged. The filing instead focuses on whether the private security contractors failed to monitor an entrance where fare evasion and other incidents were allegedly common.
The Nurse Says The Fall Caused Serious Medical Complications
The woman suffered a fractured leg, and the complaint says she later developed a blood clot because she was unable to move normally. She also continues to deal with pain, medical bills, lost wages and disfigurement, according to the filing.
The complaint says she had already warned the CTA twice about dangerous conditions at the station before the incident. She allegedly described guards as standing in a circle and looking at their phones instead of watching the gates, writing that she dreaded opening them because she expected to be pushed or injured.
CTA Is Expanding Police Presence And Testing New Fare Gates
The lawsuit arrives as the CTA is reworking how it handles both fare enforcement and station security. On July 16, the agency announced a technology challenge seeking new faregate designs intended to deter evasion while improving rider security, and its March security plan called for a 75% increase in monthly policing hours through expanded Chicago Police Department and Cook County sheriff patrols, according to CTA's faregate announcement and the agency's enhanced security plan.
That shift has also included changes to private security contracts. CBS Chicago reported in April that the CTA was ending contracts with at least two unarmed security companies and redirecting money toward armed police patrols, though the report did not connect that decision to this lawsuit.
What The Lawsuit Does And Does Not Establish
Attorney Ken Hoffman filed the lawsuit in January against Action K-9 Security Inc. and First American Security Inc. The CTA was originally named as a defendant but was later dismissed under statutory immunity, according to FOX 32 Chicago's report.
The remaining case is a civil claim, not a criminal prosecution, and the allegations have not been proven in court. The central question will be whether the security companies had a duty to monitor the entrance and whether their alleged failure to do so legally contributed to the nurse's injuries.
For riders at the South Side terminal, the dispute puts a very ordinary part of the commute—the few steps through a fare gate—under an unusually bright legal spotlight. It also raises a broader question for the CTA's evolving security strategy: whether more guards and new gates will translate into safer, more closely watched station entrances.
