Climbing wall, bus lawsuits against UI settled

Two lawsuits against the University of Iowa were settled Tuesday in $125,000 settlement agreements.

The first involved a man injured while using a climbing wall at the university. Spencer Bean, a former student, alleged the school failed to properly supervise or monitor the wall, causing him to fall off the nearly 53-foot wall in November 2012. The Iowa Appeal Board agreed to a $75,000 settlement to resolve that lawsuit.

The board additionally approved a $50,000 settlement to Elizabeth and Ryan Lester. Elizabeth Lester was struck in a crosswalk by a bus that is part of the schools public transportation system in March 2012. Lester, a Des Moines dermatologist and a 2012 graduate of the University of Iowa’s Carver College of Medicine, suffers from ongoing pain due to the accident, according to the lawsuit.