Chicago Icy Sidewalk Lawyer

Facts: Our client was a 24-year-old patron at a tavern owned by Ginx, Inc. Another patron, known only as “Mike,” became intoxicated, argumentative and violent at the tavern as the evening progressed. “Mike” then got into a fight with another patron of the bar and was asked to leave. “Mike” later returned to the bar within minutes and was patted down by the tavern’s bouncer. The bouncer felt what he felt was a gun in “Mike’s” pants and then asked him to leave the tavern, again. Within seconds of Mike leaving the tavern, shots were fired into the tavern through a boarded-up side door. Our client, who was not involved in any altercation that evening, was shot in the back while playing pool near the area of the boarded-up side door.

Client’s Injuries: Permanent paraplegia with paralysis from the nipple-line down, spastic bladder and bowel, broken ribs and a collapsed lung

Facts: Our client was shot with a handgun inside her own apartment by her brother who had entered the building through the front door of the apartment complex that was equipped with a lock that was not functioning properly. We successfully argued that the landlord had liability for the shooting due to the fact that the local ordinance required entryway doors to be equipped with a working locking mechanism that required a key to enter the premises.

Client’s Injuries: Gunshot wound that entered the oral cavity and shattered the mandible and went through the neck and then lodged into her right scapula causing a fracture. Also sustained injuries to her right jugular vein and right carotid artery.

Facts: Our client, a citizen of the Czech Republic, was painting the exterior stairway at 625½ West Arlington, Chicago, Illinois, when he encountered a garbage can on the winder portion of the staircase at which time he lost his balance and fell over the railing of the stairway, falling two stories to the ground. It was alleged that there were various defects in the staircase.

Client’s Injuries: Rib fractures, a burst dislocation of T10/T11 and T11/T12 with paraplegia, which required a fusion of T8 to L1 with a rib graft

Facts: A power strip manufactured by Gemini Industries, Inc., for Philips-Magnavox failed, causing a fire at a condominium in Homewood, Illinois. The product failure consisted of either an MOV and/or thermal fuse failure and/or inappropriate installation of the MOV and/or thermal fuse when the power strip was manufactured. The fire burned through the walls of the condominium unit and entered the adjoining condominium.

Client’s Injuries: Wrongful death of 67-year-old caused by burns and carbon monoxide poisoning. Deceased was a retired train engineer.

Facts: Our client slipped and fell on the remnants of the base of a concrete pillar on the defendant’s property that previously held up a canopy over the sidewalk.

Client’s Injuries: Right ankle sprain and ligament tear, complex regional pain syndrome of the right lower extremity, type 1, requiring initial treatment of right lumbar sympathetic nerve blocks, a spinal cord implant surgery which lead to a staph infection.

Facts: Our client was a customer at a gasoline service station when he was shot in the back by an unknown assailant and robbed, while the vehicle he was a passenger in was car-jacked by a group of criminals.

Client’s Injuries: Complete spinal cord injury to T8 resulting in paraplegia; a right 8th rib fracture and numerous complications including phlebitis, fecal impaction, sacral decubitus ulcer, multiple decubitus wounds, back area wounds, bilateral heel wounds, right ischial pressure and post-sacral pressure sore requiring operations for excisional preparation for muscle flap closure of right ischium and excisional preparation for fasciocutaneous closure of the sacrum.

Facts: Our client was touring the inside of a country club looking at various pieces of equipment to potentially purchase. As she was descending a flight of carpeted stairs on the premises, she tripped over a piece of carpet that was torn and fell down four stairs. The defense argued the defective condition of the stairs was an open and obvious condition and therefore, they were not liable for our client’s injuries. We successfully argued against the defense’s position and attained a settlement for our client in the amount of $300,000.00.

Client’s Injuries: Nondisplaced sacral fracture and subsequent sacroiliac joint pain.

Facts: Our client was a passenger in an automobile being driven northbound on Route 31 north of Gracy Road, in McHenry County, Illinois, when it was struck by a truck being driven southbound on Route 31 that had crossed the center line.

Client’s Injuries: Multiple fractures

Facts: Our client tripped over a garden hose that was left out behind a gated entrance to her house. She suffered a distal radius left fracture, which required two surgeries. The defendant argued that hose was an open and obvious condition. The case settled for $205,000.00.

Facts: Our client was a patron at the defendant’s restaurant when she slipped and fell on a wet floor near the salad bar. The floor had recently been mopped by a restaurant employee.

Client’s Injuries: Mild concussion causing headaches, a C3-C4 disc herniation, C4-C5 disc bulge, cervical sprain, disc protrusions at the levels of C4 and C7 with associated cervical radiculopathy, requiring epidural injections; a non-displaced occult type fracture of the distal tibia with a bone contusion of the distal tibia and the talus requiring her to utilize a Cam walker and a cane.

Facts: Our client was exiting her apartment complex and walking on the sidewalk toward the parking lot of her building. However, just before reaching the parking lot, our client was caused to slip and fall on an unnatural accumulation of ice on the sidewalk due to improper placement/maintenance of a drainage gutter.

Client’s Injuries: Displaced left distal radius fracture requiring open reduction internal fixation surgery.

Facts: Our client was lawfully on the defendant’s premises walking down the interior stairs to the basement of the apartment building when she fell down the stairs after slipping on a foreign substance. We successfully argued that the property owner was negligent in the maintenance of their property by allowing a foreign substance to remain on the surface of the stairwell, thereby causing a slippery and hazardous condition; by failing to maintain a firmly fastened handrail in good condition; failure to warn persons walking down the stairway of the dangerous condition existing on the premises; and failed to properly and sufficiently illuminate the stairway, causing our client to suffer severe and permanent injuries.

Client’s Injuries: Sprain to the medial collateral ligament in the knee, partial tear of the rotator cuff and the AC joint in the left shoulder.

Facts: Our client slipped and fell on a liquid substance left sitting on the highly polished floors at the defendant’s restaurant.

Client’s Injuries: Left patella contusion with posttraumatic chondromalacia patella, mild lateral femoral condyle and lateral tibial plateau contusion.

Facts: The plaintiff, age 3, was a patron of South Sea Seafood Restaurant, which was located at 2168 S. Archer Avenue, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, when the defendant, an exchange student from Seoul, South Korea, spun a lazy Susan tray containing a pitcher of hot tea that subsequently fell off the lazy Susan tray causing boiling hot water to spill onto the child.

Client’s Injuries: Scald burn to left extremity and right body, right elbow, right thigh, and right calf

Facts: Our client was walking on public property when she slipped and fell due to the defendant property owner’s negligence in the maintenance of their property by piling up shoveled snow adjacent to the exit sidewalk. We successfully argued that the property owner should not have piled the snow up so near the exit to the premises, which in turn allowed it to thaw and refreeze creating an icing condition on the sidewalk, which caused the slip and fall which resulted in our client’s injuries.

Client’s Injuries: Lumbosacral strain, C5-C6 disc bulge, foraminal stenosis, nerve root irritation.

Facts: Our client was on his way to work when he came onto the sidewalk in front of the office building where he worked where he slipped and fell on ice formed by runoff from the building.

Client’s Injuries: Fracture of the left femoral neck (hip fracture).

Facts: Our client tripped and fell due to the defendant’s negligence in the maintenance of its property. The defendant failed to adequately secure the carpeting on the stairway leading down from the second floor; allowing the stairway to exist with a lack of uniform sized treads and risers; not having sufficient handrails and having inadequate lighting, resulting in our client’s injuries.

Client’s Injuries: Bimalleolar fracture of the right ankle which led to an open reduction internal fixation operation.

Facts: Our client was a patron at the defendant’s restaurant when a server spilled a pot of boiling water onto our client.

Client’s Injuries: Severe burns to right shoulder, right arm, chest, and face; diagnosed with full thickness skin loss due to 3rd degree burns to the forehead, cheek, upper arm, and shoulder.

Facts: Our client was in an elevator at 5838 N. Sheridan Rd. when the elevator dropped and fell multiple floors until it fell into the elevator pit.

Facts: The defendant was visiting our client’s home and while our client was escorting the defendant to her car as she was leaving the premises, the defendant ran into and pushed our client to the ground because the defendant overreacted to seeing a stray animal in the street.

Client’s Injuries: Suffered a comminuted fracture in the distal end or metaphysic of the radius with fractured lines extending to the distal articular cortical margin; open reduction internal fixation surgery to repair her fractured wrist.