PREMISES LIABILITY VERDICTS

$6,000,000 Settlement – Stabbing at Retail Chain

An 18-year-old retail store employee was fatally stabbed by a customer in Rockford while on shift. Surveillance showed the assailant had made racially targeted threats prior to the attack, which plaintiffs alleged the store and its contracted security company failed to address. The civil stabbing claim was resolved through mediation following years of litigation, including two successful challenges to the defense’s workers’ compensation exclusivity argument.

$1,270,000 Settlement – Faulty Elevator Accident

Plaintiff, a 5-year-old girl, was crushed to death in a Chicago elevator accident. This occurred between the hinged floor door and the sliding gate at the front of an elevator while exiting the cab as it began to move in response to a call from a lower floor.

$1,200,000 Settlement – Retail Falling Objects

Plaintiff, a 28-year-old woman and mother of two, was shopping in a remnant carpet store when a wooden rack supporting hundreds of pounds of carpet rolls collapsed, burying her, resulting in her death by suffocation.

$425,000 Settlement – Restaurant Slip & Fall

A 73-year-old man fell at a restaurant in DuPage County after an unmarked step with no visual contrast and no handrails caused him to trip on approach to the entrance. He sustained a complex shoulder fracture and a skull fracture, requiring total shoulder replacement surgery. The case was resolved through settlement following the denial of the defense’s summary judgment motion.

$300,000 Settlement – Apartment Slip & Fall

A 29-year-old woman fell down the stairs in a Mount Prospect apartment complex after a bottom step built significantly below code caused her to misstep. She sustained a left ankle fracture and ligament rupture requiring surgery, with imaging later revealing a nonunion at the fracture site. The case was resolved through direct negotiation between the parties.

$300,000 Settlement – Rental Property Wrongful Death

An 82-year-old woman suffered wrongful death at a rental property. She suffered a traumatic brain injury and died after tripping on a raised board at her LaSalle County residence. A family member had previously notified the property owners of the hazard, and no repair was ever made. After nearly eight years of litigation, including multiple dismissals, an appellate reversal, and a remand, the case settled for policy limits.

$110,000 Settlement – Electric Shock

The plaintiff suffered a heart attack after being shocked by electrical current traveling through the ground caused by a broken power line that had fallen and come into contact with the ground a few houses away from her own. The Chicago electrocution lawsuit was filed against the local power company, alleging negligent installation and maintenance of the power lines.

$40,000 Settlement – Dog Bite

An 8-year-old child was bitten on the face by the neighbor’s dog, resulting in scarring to her face. The dog attack claim in Chicago was settled within the limits of the neighbor’s homeowner’s policy of insurance.