Is the City of Chicago liable for every accident that occurs when a pedestrian trips and falls on a public sidewalk? Of course not. But under certain circumstances, the City can be held liable. The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, considered just such a scenario in Waters v. City of Chicago, (No. 1–10–0759). In […]

To what extent is a railroad carrier liable under the Federal Employers’ Liability Act (FELA) to an employee injured while at work? The Supreme Court of the United States considered this very issue in a recent case that arose in Illinois, CSX Transportation Inc. v. McBride, No. 10-235. McBride was a locomotive engineer for CSX […]

In a recent case, the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, was asked to overturn a jury trial verdict in favor of a teenager who was severely injured when attempting to jump onto a freight train that was traveling 9-10 miles per hour. The train ran over his foot, injuring it so badly that it […]

Can a locomotive engineer recover for injuries sustained while on a cab car that was not connected to an assembled train? That’s one issue considered by the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, in Balough v. Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corporation, No. 1–09–3053 (2011). In Balough, the plaintiff was an employee of the defendant. […]

Bell v. Hutsell is a recent decision out of the Appellate Court of Illinois, Second District, that involved allegations that homeowners were responsible for the death of an 18-year old who died in an automobile accident after drinking alcohol at the home of the defendants. In Bell, it was alleged that the defendants’ son, who […]

The United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois addressed the issue of a store owner’s liability for a shopper’s slip and fall allegedly caused by a loose floor mat in Gentry v. Shop’n Save Warehouse Foods, Inc., — F.Supp.2d —-, 2010 WL 1433410 (April 7, 2010). In Gentry, the injured plaintiff was […]