Chicago, Illinois Premises Liability Lawyers Get Nice Verdict
In Chicago, Illinois personal injury attorneys were recently awarded a good verdict in a slip and fall case, according to the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin. The accident happened in the parking lot of the Marriot Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois. The plaintiff slipped and fell on ice and suffered a torn rotator cuff and a fractured ankle. Both injuries required surgery to repair.
The plaintiff claimed at trial that the defendant negligently removed snow and ice from the parking lot. They alleged that the snow was piled "upstream" of a walkway, and that snow melted and then re-froze on the walkway, and that said condition caused the plaintiff to slip and fall. The defendant claimed that the area had been propery plowed and salted, and that any freezing was a natural accumulation of ice. (Illinois property owners are usually not liable for injuries that result from natural accumulations of ice and snow).
Prior to trial the plaintiff demanded $200,000 to settle and the defendant offered $135,000. The Cook County Jury returned a verdict of $616,788 ($822,383 reduced by 25% for comparative fault).
The verdict was awarded in Mary Nicholas v. Marriot Hotel Services, Inc., et. al., Cook County Case No. 2005 L 1791. The plaintiffs were represented by Marc Taxman and Sean Murray. The case was defended by the firm of Grant, Ross & Fanning. The Honorable Henry R. Simmons, Jr. presided.
