Recently in Slip and Fall Category

In an interesting negligence suit filed against a mausoleum in Skokie, a man claimed he tripped and broke his hip after an employee turned out the lights because he apparently wanted to leave and go home early.

Chicago Breaking News reported James Arthur, who filed the suit in Cook County, was visiting a relative’s burial chamber on April 2009 at the Memorial Park Cemetery when the lights suddenly went out, which caused him to slip and fall. The suit claims one of Arthur’s family members had even told a worker in the area that their visit would be brief before he began closing the mausoleum.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported numerous slip and fall accidents resulting from icy streets and sidewalks have sent many Chicago-area locals to the hospital during this winter season. One Chicago emergency room reported a 30 percent increase in patients visiting overnight as a result of weather-related injuries.

The Northwestern Memorial Hospital said it had a 20 percent rise in ER visits while Rush University Medical Center reported a 30 percent increase. The sudden rise in ER visits was mostly, if not all, linked to icy conditions. Many patients arrived to the hospitals with dislocated shoulders and wrist and hip fractures.

As the Midwest and the East Coast get hammered by blizzards, it's a good time to talk about premises liability. More to the point, what is a homeowner's responsibility with respect to shoveling (or not shoveling) snow on driveways and sections of sidewalk in front of one's house?

Some homeowners refuse to shovel snow not because they're lazy but because they believe it actually increases their chance of getting slapped with a slip-and-fall lawsuit.

It sounds crazy but is it really true?

Sheri Schooley sued suburban Detroit restaurant Texas Roadhouse after she allegedly injured her hand on a toilet paper dispenser, according to an Associated Press article published on the web site of Fort Wayne television station WANE.

The Michigan Supreme Court recently ruled 4-3 to allow the lawsuit to move ahead, ending two appeal attempts. The 58-year-old plaintiff admitted to reporters that her case involves a "bizarre story."

A Colorado jury ordered retailer Walmart to cough up $15 million in damages for injuries 41-year-old trucker Holly Averyt sustained at at a Greeley, Colorado Walmart three years ago, according to the Greeley Tribune. Averyt's attorney, Gregory Gold said he thought it was one of the largest such awards:

"It's the highest slip-and-fall verdict that I know of, maybe even in the country."

Beverly Munguia was awarded $5.67 million by a federal jury for injuries sustained after slipping and falling in a McDonald's fast food restaurant on the island of Maui, the Honolulu Star Advertiser reported.

According to the article, the 59-year-old Texas woman fell on her buttocks on Nov. 25, 2007 and sustained a burst compression fracture on one of her vertebra. Michael Cruise, her attorney, said his client's L1 vertebra lost 90 percent of its height.

A recently released National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) report stated that more "slip and fall" claims against businesses are being scrutinized for potential fraud, CBS Atlanta reported. Such claims are typically filed against a business or property owner for allegedly failing to maintain a safe environment.

Some of the fraudulent claims can be blamed on crime rings that stage slip and fall accidents, said Joe Wehrle, CEO and president of NICB.

The 2009 Johnny Depp movie "Public Enemies" chronicles the life of notorious gangster John Dillinger, as IMBD explains, focusing on the federal government's attempt to take them down during the tumultuous 1930s. The film was shot in Chicago's North Side by NBC Universal.

What was also tumultuous (besides the time period the movie was set in) was a slip and fall that occurred on set.

As part of the set, the producers covered North Lincoln Ave. with a fake cobblestone cover made of a foam-like substance. The plaintiff was not part of the film crew or an extra but said he and other pedestrians were allowed to walk across the set one day after shooting.

John McManus claims he wasn't warned about the surface and subsequently fell, causing injury. He claims his foot sank into the surface and then got stuck under a fake trolley rail. 

Who among us hasn't at one time or another stood in awe of a perfect pyramid of fresh golden apples or glowing tangerines while strolling down a supermarket aisle? My personal favorites are the bright purple eggplants that show up in late summer. 

Usually the floors of the produce section are relatively clean but allegedly that wasn't the case for Halina Dymora, who is suing Jewel Food Stores Inc. in a slip and fall legal action, Chicago Now's Chicago Bar-Tender reports. 

It wasn't a banana peel or a puddle of tomato juice she allegedly fell on, but a piece of wood. She didn't see it because she allegedly was transfixed by the store's lovely fruits and vegetables: 

Plaintiff was unaware of the presence of the piece of wood as her attention was directed at the vegetables in front of her.

Cook County jail inmate Ricky Robinson claims that he slipped and fell on water from his overflowing toilet, according to the complaint prepared by Chicago injury lawyer Fred I. Benjamin.

Does this sound familiar?

Mr. Robinson may be in good (or should we say bad?) company since prisoners have been accused of intentionally flooding jail cells by plugging up the toilet for years now. According to the Oakland Tribune, the goal of most inmates is usually to "cause a ruckus." While it could be to cause a ruckus, it typically costs taxpayer money in order to fix the problem.