Q: Had fallen in parking garage on way to Jury Duty, Village of Joliet is refusing to pay for ER bill.
No break in wrist, but I ended up with a $4,295.91 bill, I filed a claim with the Village of Joliet and they responded stating that it seems I was just seeking to recover damages from the City. My shoe tripped on something either the door strip or a crack in the concrete, and I fell face first on the first floor landing. No witnesses, no pictures. I walked on over to the court house and could not stay as my wrist was throbbing. I was excused from jury duty by an officer there and offered to have them call me an ambulance, but refused drove myself back to Edwards ER in Plainfield for the x-rays. Would it be worth my time and yours to pursue this with an attorney?
A: In order to prevail in the case that you describe you would have to be able to prove by showing that the place where you fell was caused by some defect that the City of Joliet knew or should have known to be dangerous to those expected to pass over this area. Your injuries are serious, but unless you are able to identify the a defect of such proportion that exceeds the threshold of the defined defect of a municipal controlled area, your case would fail. The City of Joliet also has a form of tort immunity that provides additional protection because of its status as governmental body under Illinois law. This too is another difficult obstacle to overcome. If you are able to photograph the exact area of your fall showing the concrete defect that is objectively considered significant enough to pass muster as a "defect", you may bring that information to a Will County lawyer to consider this.
Justia Ask a Lawyer is a forum for consumers to get answers to basic legal questions. Any information sent through Justia Ask a Lawyer is not secure and is done so on a non-confidential basis only.
The use of this website to ask questions or receive answers does not create an attorney–client relationship between you and Justia, or between you and any attorney who receives your information or responds to your questions, nor is it intended to create such a relationship. Additionally, no responses on this forum constitute legal advice, which must be tailored to the specific circumstances of each case. You should not act upon information provided in Justia Ask a Lawyer without seeking professional counsel from an attorney admitted or authorized to practice in your jurisdiction. Justia assumes no responsibility to any person who relies on information contained on or received through this site and disclaims all liability in respect to such information.
Justia cannot guarantee that the information on this website (including any legal information provided by an attorney through this service) is accurate, complete, or up-to-date. While we intend to make every attempt to keep the information on this site current, the owners of and contributors to this site make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness or adequacy of the information contained in or linked to from this site.
