A woman who says she parked her car on a downtown Portland street -- then fell and broke her foot in a large pothole -- filed a $49,999 lawsuit Friday against the city.

Emily Allgood faults the city for failing to patch up the pothole -- something that might resonate with many Portlanders who have decried the condition of the city's streets and called for City Hall to do better.

Allgood parked on Southwest First Avenue between Yamhill and Taylor streets on the afternoon of Aug. 19, 2015, according to her lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court. She paid for parking at the city meter, then walked to her driver's side door to manually lock it, states the suit.

Because the pothole was partially obscured by her car, she didn't see it next to one of her tires, says Allgood's attorney. And that's when Allgood fell in the pothole and fractured her right foot, according to the lawsuit.

Allgood's Portland attorney, Jennie L. Clark, said like any other business that charges for a service, including parking, the city had an obligation to provide Allgood with a safe atmosphere.

"Legally and morally, if the city is going to charge you for parking, the city should fill in the potholes in the vicinity of that parking," Clark said. "They should be using the revenue from parking money to fix the potholes."

At the time of the incident, the city charged $1.60 per hour for downtown street parking. The rate has since been increased to $2 an hour.

The city doesn't comment on pending litigation. Clark said that before the lawsuit was filed, the city made an offer to settle Allgood's claim for $5,000, which is the maximum amount risk managers can settle a claim without City Council approval. But Clark said her client declined the offer because it didn't cover Allgood's losses.

Allgood was working 35 hours a week as a server at Tasty n Alder restaurant. Because of her injuries, she couldn't work for nearly 12 weeks. The suit seeks about $11,000 in lost wages.

The suit also seeks about $1,300 in medical bills from Zoom+Care and what could amount to about $37,700 in noneconomic damages, commonly known as pain and suffering.

Read the lawsuit here.

-- Aimee Green

503-294-5119