Premises Accidents

Geneva Lewis, age 72, slipped and fell on water on the floor at Pierre’s Bakery in Blue Island, Ill. It was Feb. 25, 2009 and Lewis, a retiree, fell suffering a torn rotator cuff of her right shoulder.It required surgery to repair. A very painful recovery process followed.

The defendant, Pierre’s Bakery, contended that the floor where Lewis fell was dry and that the “wet floor” warning signs were in place, including a sign within 5 feet of where she fell. Pierre’s also claimed that Lewis was at fault for choosing not to keep a proper lookout and that her injuries were due to her age-related degenerative arthritis.

Pierre’s introduced photographs of the scene of the fall, which showed a dry floor with warning signs.

In 2003, a three-story porch in Chicago’s Lincoln Park collapsed during a party. Thirteen people were killed and another 29 were injured. Insurance coverage was an issue taken up in a declaratory judgment action in the chancery division of Cook County’s Circuit Court. It was determined that the collapse of the porch constituted a single occurrence under First Specialty Insurance Corp.’s insurance coverage.The circuit court’s decision was that there was $1 million of coverage for the occurrence, not $2 million in the aggregate.

The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed the lower court’s decision after examining the policy language. It was concluded that there was nothing in the insurance policy that would support the plaintiffs’ argument that the porch collapse was a multiple occurrence.

Forty-two people, including the families of the deceased victims and 29 others who suffered injuries in the collapse, filed a lawsuit against First Specialty in 2010. They argued that First Specialty should pay the aggregate amount $2 million rather than $1 million.

Articles Posted in Premises Accidents

Torn Rotator Cuff Results in Record Verdict to Senior Citizen

Limit in Insurance Coverage Affirmed in Porch Collapse Case; Ware v. First Specialty Insurance Corp.