Coffee Spill Illinois Mall Leads Premises Liability Suit

As the law stands in the area of premises liability, when you enter onto another person&s property, it is reasonable to expect that you won&t get injured. Because the law provides for this reasonable expectation standard, property owners must then make sure that the property is relatively safe. Relatively safe may mean proper upkeep or maintenance of the property or warning people of known dangers.

When property owners fail to meet that standard and someone is injured or hurt on the premises as a result, the property owners may be liable for those injuries. In this situation, victims in Illinois may be able to bring a premises liability suit in an attempt to recover damages or compensation for their injuries.

That&s what one woman is doing after she suffered a slip and fall injury at an Illinois mall under the control of ERMC Property Management Company of Illinois. The woman alleges that an overflowing trash can at the mall and some spilled coffee caused her fall.

She is suing both the mall and the property management company. The woman says that the defendants acted negligently by allowing the trash can to overflow on the walkway. She says that the defendants continued to allow shoppers to use the walkway even though they were aware of the danger.

The woman filed her claim in St. Clair County Circuit Court. As for her injuries, she says that she has suffered greatly due to the fall, including a variety of injuries and pain. She makes a claim for related medical expenses and lost employment. In addition to an award of damages, the woman is also seeking any other relief that the court may deem fair, given the circumstances.

Source: The Madison-St. Clair Record, "Trash build-up inside mall causes patron to slip on spilled coffee, suit claims," Kelley Holleran, Oct. 1, 2013