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Schneiderman, Vickrey Secure Summary Judgment in Hospital Premises Liability Dispute

August 27, 2020

Johnson & Bell Attorneys, Brad R. Schneiderman and Caroline K. Vickrey, obtained summary judgment in a Cook County Circuit Court case in which the Plaintiff fell off of her rolling walker in our client’s hospital parking lot, fracturing her hip.  Plaintiff alleged the hospital failed to repair, remedy or maintain an unreasonably dangerous condition of a large area of uneven pavement in the lot. Schneiderman and Vickrey argued that because the Plaintiff was pushing herself backwards at the time she fell off her rolling walker and thus, she did not see what caused her rolling walker to tip over, she was unable to establish the element of proximate cause.  The Court agreed that Plaintiff failed to establish proximate cause. Plaintiff’s testimony that the wheel of her walker “probably got stuck on something” was deemed to be speculative and conjecture as Defendant had argued. In addition, Plaintiff’s pointing to two possible locations of her fall in photographs further evidenced her uncertainty as to the cause.  Based on Plaintiff’s inability to establish proximate cause, the Court granted summary judgment.

Related Item:

Schneiderman Pours Cold Water on Plaintiff's Theory in Premises Case

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