St. Louis Injury Lawyer Blog

A woman visiting an Alton, Illinois hospital is suing the facility for failing to prevent slips and falls on their premises.

The plaintiff was visiting her husband at St. Clare's Hospital on the day of the accident. She was caring for her husband, who was in outpatient care, when she slipped and fell on a dangerous condition. According to the Madison County Record, the accident broke a knee cap, a wrist and a rib.

The primary claims made in the case are that the owners failed to keep the hospital safe for patients and visitors, which has cost the plaintiff thousands of dollars in medical bills and undue stress. Her lawsuit was the last to be filed in Madison County for the year 2010.

According to the Occupational Safety & Health Administration, preventing slips and falls by reducing hospital hallway clutter and drying wet surfaces is important for maintaining a safe environment. At the very least, wet floor areas should be marked with signs. Spills can also lead to mold and bacteria growth, which contribute to hospital-associated infections.

Continue reading "St. Clare's Hospital Accident Leads to Slip and Fall Lawsuit" »

A woman from Maryville, Illinois who fell on an Alton Square Mall escalator is filing a slip and fall lawsuit against Schindler Escalator Company.

The accident, which occurred in January 2010, was a result of an elevator in the JC Penney department store in Alton Square Mall coming to a sudden stop, causing the plaintiff to fall and become injured. Treating the injury has resulted in steep medical bills from the ambulance ride, hospital bills, radiology reports and a chiropractor. The injuries have also caused the plaintiff mental anguish and a loss of quality of life.

The plaintiff is represented by Michael P. Glisson, an attorney with the Alton-based law firm WWF&G, which specializes in personal injury cases. Glisson has pledged to make a recovery on his client's behalf.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that 2.2 million accidental falls by older adults led to emergency treatment in 2009. Falls cause a high percent of all traumatic brain injuries and the majority of bone fractures among older adults.

Continue reading "Maryville Illinois Woman Falls on Faulty Escalator at Alton Square Mall" »

A woman from Madison County, Illinois who sustained injuries due to a transportation company's negligence has resolved her claim. She previously filed a personal injury lawsuit against Helping Hands Medical Service Car, Inc. alleging negligent transportation.

In February of 2008, the wheelchair-bound plaintiff used the services of Helping Hands for transportation purposes. She just had a knee replacement surgery, and was in a full leg cast. She hired Helping Hands to transport her to a follow up doctor's visit.

Despite locking her wheelchair down, Helping Hands failed to secure her with a seatbelt. Seatbelts are required by Helping Hand's written policies, but the driver failed to bring a seatbelt. The Plaintiff was assured that she would be okay, but at the very first stop light, the driver had to stop abruptly, causing the plaintiff to spill forward out of the wheelchair.

As a result, the accident did permanent damage to the plaintiff's body, including a fracture of her femur bone. The accident caused the plaintiff pain and suffering and a great deal of medical expenses, for which she sought damages against Helping Hands.

According to the Illinois General Assembly, car services that transport disabled passengers are government-subsidized services. Such companies should be held to a higher standard as they use tax dollars and should provide quality, safe services to the people of Illinois. In fact, transportation services in Illinois are common carriers, and are held to the highest standard of care.

Continue reading "Madison County Illinois Woman Resolves Negligence Suit Against Car Service" »

An Edwardsville woman has filed suit against the Target Corporation claiming she sustained injuries after slipping and falling in the Edwardsville Target retail store.

The suit states that "as the Plaintiff was moving from the carpeted to the non-carpeted surface, her foot slid on the carpeting and onto the adjacent area, causing Plaintiff to fall to the floor." Her complaint seeks a judgment of more than $50,000.

Slips, trips and falls cause 15% of all accidental deaths and are second only to car accidents.

Continue reading "Slip and fall suit against Edwardsville Target" »

James Kirby, a Millstadt resident, was shopping for a car on July 10, 2008 when he slipped on an unidentified substance. Kirby claims the dealership, Bob Brockland Pontiac Buick GMA, failed to alert customers to the spill. On March 3, 2010, he filed a suit claiming negligence on the part of the dealership.

Kirby claimed his daily life had been adversely affected because of his fall. He cited injuries in his knee among injuries that left him disabled, causing him to lost wages and incur medical costs.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that there are 27.7 million hospital visits per year caused by unintentional injuries, including things like slip and falls. Any fall, especially for the elderly, can lead to serious and potentially fatal injuries.

Continue reading "Illinois Pontiac Dealer Sued After Slip-and-Fall" »

Last week a Granite City Illinois man filed a lawsuit after allegedly tripping over a hose while shopping in Lowe's garden center. Gerald Mangiarcino and his wife Donna filed the suit claiming that the slip and fall resulted in injuries that disrupted his daily life, causing disability and a loss of wages. His wife claims that she lost her husbands love, support, affection and companionship.

The fall occurred while the couple was shopping almost four years ago. They claim an employee left the hose out and had allowed water to accumulate on the walkway- just one of several acts of negligence they are filing against Lowe's. In addition, they claim failure to mark the hose or barricade the walkway, and allowing the hose and water to remain on the walkway for an unreasonable time period. Together, the couple is seeking a judgment of at least $100,000.

Continue reading "Suit Filed Over Slip and Fall at Glen Carbon Illinois Lowe's" »

Last Saturday, five-year-old Ava Karpowecz was on her way to gymnastics when she slipped on a patch of ice in her driveway. Hearing her child's cries, her mother came over and discovered Ava had hit her head on the pavement. Beyond being shaken, their child seemed to be fine, though they opted not to go on to gymnastics class. However, as the night went on the Karpoweczes grew nervous after Ava would complain about pain and began vomitting. They consulted doctors who told the parents to give her Tylenol and wake her intermittently and check for confusion.

Sunday afternoon, Ava woke from a nap screaming in pain. Her mother rushed her to St. Anthony's Medical Center. Upon arrival, doctors noticed the child vomiting and originally diagnosed her as having the flu. However, because of her fall the previous day, they ordered a CT scan to be certain. The results of the scan sent the medical team into swift action. The fall had caused an epidural hematoma- a blood clot between the skull and the membrane covering the brain. Injuries such as these can take hours to manifest themselves through symptoms, however, once the injury occurs, it becomes a race against the clock. Ava was immediately airlifted to Cardinal Glennon for emergency surgery.

Continue reading "Slip-and-Fall Causes Serious Brain Injury in Eureka Missouri Child" »

A personal injury case brought against Dr. Michael Jones, Dr. John Kleinhoffer and Frey Properties was filed at the Madison County Circuit Court on Dec. 14. Geraldine Augustine claims she slipped and fell on ice outside her doctors' office on December 17, 2007, in Highland Illinois. The office of Jones and Kleinhoffer was leased from Frey Properties.

The suit states that the doctors' office did not provide a safe entry into their establishment during icy conditions which resulted in the plaintiffs injuries. Augustine suffered from a torn rotator cuff in her left arm. She also incurred medical, hospital, physical therapy, and pharmacy costs. Augustine is seeking a judgement of $225,000 plus costs in this case.

Something as simple as a freshly mopped floor or an unmaintained walkway can result in patients possibly getting seriously injured. Thousands of people are hurt in slip and fall accidents every year. Property owners have a legal obligation to keep their premises safe and should be held accountable if they fail to do so.

If you or a loved one have been injured in a slip and fall accident please contact the attorneys at WWF&G, located at 603 Henry St. in Alton Illinois. (618) 462-1077. All attorneys are licensed in both Missouri and Illinois.

Clinton County, Illinois - A case against Hansen Foods Inc. (a franchisee of Hardee's), brought by an injured customer has been set for trial on March 8, 2010. The man, an 85 year old veteran of WWII and the Korean War, was walking into Hardee's at 1:00 p.m. with a friend in 2007. At that time, an employee had mopped the floors but failed to use a dry mop as required by Hardee's written guidelines.

The man slipped and fell on the wet floor, causing him to fall and fracture his femur, which resulted in a hip surgery, and additional related surgeries and treatment. There is a dispute as to whether or not wet floor signs were set out, and whether or not they were placed properly. There is no dispute that the floor was wet and caused the fall of the customer.

Business owners have a duty to maintain their property in a safe condition and be free of negligence. If businesses are going to choose to mop during business hours, they need to warn customers of the same, and dry the area as quickly as possible. Here, the customer alleges Hansen Foods could have easily dried the area with a dry mop, but instead chose to let it dry on its own and left the area unattended. Moreover, depositions of the parties revealed that the employee was using soap, which is against Hardee's mopping guidelines in effect at the time of the incident for day mopping.

The trial is expected to last 2-3 days, and will include expert testimony, physicians and testimony from all parties.

Continue reading "Slip And Fall Lawsuit Involving Hardee's In Breese, Illinois Set For Trial" »

A local woman brought suit against Kerasotes Showplace Theater in Edwardsville, Illinois over a defective step. Interestingly, the entire trip and fall is on video. The movie goer walked down some steps in the middle of the movie to use the restroom. Between the upper and lower seats is a walkway. However, the walkway had about a 4 inch raise - for no apparent reason. It appears to be a design flaw. The woman fell straight to the ground when her foot struck the step, resulting in a signficant knee injury and surgery.

The defect is believed to be in every theater at the Edwardsville theater. Depositions have revealed that perhaps 10 or more people fell on the same or similar defect as Plaintiff. The "incident reports" produced in the lawsuit by Kerasotes indicate injuries have occurred to numerous victims and Kerasotes has yet to remedy the situation.

In trip and fall type cases, a Plaintiff must prove that the owner had knowledge of a dangerous condition. It is often difficult to prove a Defendant knew or should have known of a dangerous condition - they regularly deny knowledge of a defect. Here, Kerasotas acknowledges the situation via numerous reports, but has failed to make the condition safer for customers.

Continue reading "Edwardsville, Illinois Theater Sued Over Defective Step" »

An Alton, Illinois woman resolved her claim against Ponderosa. The elderly woman was with her daughter when she left the Ponderosa on Homer Adams Parkway in Alton. The sidewalk around the building came to an abrupt dropoff without warning. There was no handrail, lighting, or other warning to protect the woman or other customers against this defect.

The elderly woman tried to break her fall with her outstretched hand, causing a fracture to her shoulder. She had surgery to repair the injury, but was left with permanent injury of the shoulder, including loss of range of motion, loss of strength, and pain and suffering.

Often times, businesses fail to fix defects until an accident happens, and even then, they many times fail to protect their customers against known dangerous conditions. In this case, the parking lot and walkways appeared to be in disrepair when the accident happened. The Ponderosa restaurant subsequently closed unrelated to the accident.

Continue reading "Alton, Illinois Trip and Fall Claim Against Ponderosa Resolved" »