Shantel McCoy had just arrived at her apartment building after shopping for groceries. As she entered her building, she pushed the elevator button and rode up as she normally would. But as the elevator doors opened, McCoy was welcomed by a wall of flames and plumes of smoke.
The 32-year-old woman was killed in the Lake Shore Drive apartment fire, and now her family is suing the owners of the building in a wrongful death lawsuit, reports the Chicago Tribune.
The accident happened earlier this month, and officials are still not certain of the cause of the fire. The fire started in another 12th floor apartment and apparently spread when the couple in that unit, (who made it out safely), propped open their door with a rug so their pet could escape, reports the Tribune.
McCoy’s family has not sued the couple in that unit yet, but they have sued the property owners, claiming that they failed to maintain a safe building. In their lawsuit, the family says that the elevator should have automatically shut down once the fire was detected, instead of sending McCoy directly up to her death.
Additionally, the family claims that the building should have had an operating sprinkler system and security guards to help out during an emergency.
However, just because the building did not have these safety measures, it does not mean the owners will be automatically liable for McCoy’s death. According to the Tribune, the building was built before 1975, and was not required by law to have a sprinkler system or any type of system to alert tenants of an emergency.
Shantel McCoy died in a tragic Lake Shore Drive apartment fire. In a wrongful death lawsuit, her family claims that the building owners were negligent for not taking fire safety precautions, some of which they were not legally required to take. It will be interesting to see how a jury takes into account the legal requirements to determine the building owner’s culpability.
Related Resources:
- Find a Chicago Personal Injury Attorney (FindLaw)
- Shantel McCoy Killed In Lakeview High-Rise Fire: Unknowingly Took Elevator To Her Death (Huffington Post)
- Tenant Safety and Landlord Liability (FindLaw)
- So Negligent, Chuck Dai Could Go to Jail? (FindLaw’s Chicago Personal Injury Law Blog)
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