Settlement for Slip and Fall Victim; Illinois Appellate Court reversed summary judgment

On February 9, 2015, our 34-year-old female client was commuting to work from Harvey, IL to Chicago, IL. Our client commuted on the Metra Train. After parking her car in the Metra station, she headed down a ramp toward the train platform. While working down the ramp, she slipped and fell on a big chunk of ice. As a result of the fall, our client fractured her ankle and tore a ligament in her ankle. She had surgery a few days later where nails and a screw were inserted to stabilize the ankle. She missed work as a medical assistant for the next several months and had extensive therapy. The contract between Metra and the property manager required salting and did not tolerate any ice formation. A week before our client’s fall, there was a significant snow. Evidence showed that no salting was performed at the station for days before our client fall even though temperatures thawed above freezing, leading to melting snow and ice formation. Gainsberg Injury and Accident Lawyers brought suit against the property owner, Metra, the property manager, and the snow removal company. During discovery, Gainsberg Injury and Accident Lawyers found out that another commuter – days before our client fell – called Metra and complained about ice at the station. Nothing was done at the station despite the call. Nonetheless, the trial court granted summary judgment to Metra, the property manager, and the snow removal contractor under the natural accumulation rule. Our client appealed. The Illinois Appellate Court reversed and found several triable issues of fact. The issues included whether unnatural conditions, such as melting snow piles, caused the ice formation and that both the snow removal contractor and property manager had duties to remove the ice, preventing summary judgment. Following the appellate court’s ruling, the parties agreed to mediate. The parties reached the $100,000.00 settlement as a result of the mediation.