Modest Mouse’s Isaac Brock Is Being Sued by Portland City Employee for Almost a Million Bucks

The suit alleges Brock was driving too close, too fast and while impaired.

Courtesy Kristen Currier

After a traffic accident last year, a city employee is suing Modest Mouse singer Isaac Brock for $865,000.

Last August, Brock rear-ended a Portland Parks vehicle, starting a chain reaction that turned the Morrison Bridge into a parking lot—sending the Parks vehicle into a Subaru, which hit another Subaru, which potentially hit another car that may have been a Subaru. The photo of Isaac's SUV, shown above, was taken by Kristen Currier, one of the affected Subaru drivers.

At the time, Brock told police and reporters he'd fallen asleep at the wheel. "I feel asleep at the wheel, nodded off and next thing I knew there was a car," Brock told gossip site TMZ. At the time, news outlets reported that Brock had a bruised sternum, and that one of the other drivers may have suffered a concussion.

But according to a lawsuit filed Nov. 29 and first reported by The Oregonian, city employee Cassidy Kane suffered much more serious injuries than initially reported. Among other injuries, the lawsuit cites a pinched nerve, stretching and twisting of the soft tissues around the spine, and a herniated disc in her back that will require surgery.

The suit also alleges that Brock was driving while impaired, following too closely and driving too quickly.

Brock was not charged with driving under the influence, though he did plead guilty to careless driving leading to an accident.

Kane's medical bills detailed in the suit add up to $9,901. Kane is also seeking $105,000 in lost wages, a number the suit stipulates may increase. (In 2014, the most recent year recorded in the city employee salary database kept by The Oregonian, Kane's base salary was $46,000.)

But the majority of the funds sought by the suit are $750,000 in compensation for Kane's pain and suffering. The suit states that Kane continues to suffer in the 15 months since the accident, and has been unable to work.

According to The Oregonian, Kane has stated a desire to switch jobs from her current role as a utility worker at Delta Park, where she emptied garbage cans and dug irrigation lines. The city is paying for her to attend up to two years of business management school.

Willamette Week’s reporting has concrete impacts that change laws, force action from civic leaders, and drive compromised politicians from public office. Support WW's journalism today.