While slip and fall cases are the most widely recognized type of premises liability, this area of tort law covers a broad range of incidents that can stem from negligence surrounding a number of factors including snow and ice hazards, inadequate security, and sinkholes.

Determining Liability in a Premises Liability Claim

Premises liability holds a property owner accountable for injury or death that occurs on their property due to negligence or unsafe conditions. However, not every accident that occurs on another person’s property is eligible for legal compensation. In order for the property owner to be considered liable, the claimant must be able to prove:

• The defendant owns, leases, or occupies the property.
• The plaintiff was a lawful visitor.
• The defendant acted with negligence or did not uphold their duty of care.
• The plaintiff was injured on the property
• The defendant’s negligence directly caused the plaintiff’s injuries.

There are numerous legal nuances that any single premises liability case can include. In the event of an incident, it is important to speak to an experienced premises liability accident attorney immediately to help you determine where the fault lies and how to proceed with your potential claim.

Like many personal injury cases, there is always the potential to have multiple defendants in a premises liability case. In Illinois, shared liability plays a role in many instances of share responsibility on a single property. Renters of privately-owned residential properties can potentially share the responsibility of ensuring safe conditions on the property and the negligence of unresolved hazards that result in injury. Likewise, accidents such as slip and falls or snow and ice cases on commercial properties such as apartment complexes, strip malls, or office parks, may involve the negligence of third-party management or maintenance companies. Depending on the specifics of each case, these third-party groups may absorb some or all of the fault.

Illinois premises liability law is also unique in the fact that a property owner can be doing all the right things, and still lose a premises liability claim.

What is a Property Owner’s Duty?

Property owners are responsible for maintaining their property in a reasonably safe condition for visitors including family, friends, and neighbors as well as people who have the property owner’s implied permission to enter the property for their own purposes such as sales representatives or utility workers. In premises liability cases it can be difficult to determine if this responsibility was breached without careful consideration of the specific circumstances of the incident.

Proof of Notice

Premises liability cases are formed on the basis of negligence, meaning injured parties must prove that a property owner failed to exercise reasonable care through notice of known hazards and defects.

A premises liability case can be presented by two types of notice:

• Actual notice refers to direct knowledge of a defect or hazard such as a spill that the property owner or an employee knew about because they saw it or were told about it. Negligence exists if they acknowledge the issue but take no action to fix it.
• Constructive notice refers to indirect knowledge of a defect or hazard that can be proven by issues that have been apparent for a sufficient amount of time, or happen routinely, such as a leak that occurs when it rains and causes a slippery surface, and would have been found if the property owner or employees were correctly monitoring the property and doing their job.
• If the hazard was created by the defendant, there is no need to prove notice.

Illinois Attractive Nuisance Laws

In Illinois, property owners must be aware of structures or items on their property that might appeal to a child yet present safety concerns that a child might not recognize. Attractive nuisances such as unfenced swimming pools, broken playground equipment, or construction equipment are all examples of hazards that might entice a child to play. If a child accesses property and is injured, the property owner may be liable for damages.

Common Causes of Premises Liability Accidents

Serious premises liability cases are unfortunately all too common and arise from a lack of proper warning signage, defective designs in buildings, and property owner’s failure to maintain dangerous areas, among many other scenarios. Each case is unique and requires an investigation of the property, a detailed exploration of evidence, and interviewing witnesses.

Some common situations that may give rise to premises liability lawsuits include:

• Broken staircases or porches
• Uneven sidewalks, mats, or rugs
• Cluttered walking paths
• Damaged thresholds
• Dangerous property
• Elevator and escalator accidents
• Ice and snow accumulation
• Inadequate maintenance
• Injury in a swimming pool
• Negligent or inadequate security
• Restaurant liability
• Sinkholes
• Slip and fall accidents
• Store liability
• Tripping hazards like unsecured floorboards, carpets, stairs, or steps
• Unmarked wet floors

Contact Our Illinois Premises Liability Attorneys

Injuries resulting from property hazards can be serious and have devastating repercussions for those involved. The personal injury attorneys at Clifford Law Offices have decades of experience helping people recover damages for injuries and wrongful death claims resulting from the actions of negligent property owners. Our attorneys have experience in all types of personal injury cases and premises liability lawsuits, and we know how to handle your case efficiently.

If you’ve suffered an injury due to a property owner’s failure to maintain their premises, contact Clifford Law Offices to discuss the details of your case with one of our attorneys and learn what options are available to you. It is our goal to help you receive the highest possible compensation for your injuries.

The post Premises Liability – What You Need to Know appeared first on Clifford Law Offices.

Lily’s parents, Tim Shambrook and Kate Snow are devastated by the loss of their daughter and are determined to make the biking community safer so their little’s girl’s death wasn’t in vain.

Alderman Andre Vasquez of the 40th Ward introduced the new regulation at December 14th’s City Council meeting that requires signage advising that a bike lane is closed when a city permit or any type of ongoing work results in the closure of the bike lane. It also requires signage warning vehicles to yield to bicyclists. The new ordinance also empowers employees of the city’s Department of Finance to ticket, tow, and impound vehicles driving, standing, or parking in bike lanes.

Just weeks after Lily’s death, the City of Chicago announced an aggressive plan to construct concrete barriers along every bike lane by the end of 2023 that would be similar to a curb so as to prevent drivers from even entering bicycle lanes.

“This ordinance is a first step but simply doesn’t go far enough and just papers over the real problems,” Shambrook said. “When asked about tow truck response times, camera enforcement of safe bike lanes, or progress toward the 2023 city-wide curb program, answers from the city simply are deficient. Safety should be every elected official’s top priority and our little Lily paid the ultimate price for others’ misconduct and disregard for the safety of bicyclists.”

Robert A. Clifford, founder and senior partner of Clifford Law Offices in Chicago, is representing Lily’s parents in investigating what occurred on June 9, 2022, when a Commonwealth Edison truck was parked blocking the bicycle lane painted on the street. ComEd held a permit from the city to stage vehicles and equipment on the adjoining street, Winthrop, yet the large utility truck was parked on Leland. About 8:15 a.m. that morning, at the same time the Shambrook family had to navigate around the illegally parked ComEd truck, a Mondelez 18-wheeler tractor-trailer truck drove down Leland through a residential neighborhood with a school on the corner, striking and killing Lily.

“The City of Chicago issued a permit to ComEd without adequate concern for the size and amount of heavy equipment that would be brought into the neighborhood, or where their vehicles actually would be parked,” Clifford said. “We all co-exist in a society where it takes cooperation and concern for others who need to do their jobs to ensure that senseless tragedies like this cease. That concern was missing here. The flagrant and repeated disregard for the safety of bicyclists and lack of respect for designated bike lanes by operators of trucks and vehicles creates deadly hazards that simply cannot be tolerated.”

For further information, please contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).

www.CliffordLaw.com

Media

• Photos from Tuesday morning, Dec. 13, 2022, the day before the Chicago City Council passes an ordinance attempting to strengthen bicycle laws. These photos are from the intersection where Lily Shambrook was killed in June:
  • Photo #1
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  • Photo #4

The post Statement of Shambrook Family Following Chicago City Council Passage of Bicycle Ordinance appeared first on Clifford Law Offices.

Media reports have said an internal Amazon memo dated Monday, September 12, 2022, states she is leaving in a few weeks after just three years with the company.

MacDougall’s exit comes at a time when Amazon is under intense pressure related to undercutting safety in order to put productivity first at its warehouse facilities. Amazon has faced scrutiny of late over injury rates, and the issue has helped to fuel a union uprising at some of its fulfillment centers.

The firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of a young driver who was ordered to come back to the fulfillment center despite weather reports of an impending tornado that ultimately struck the facility on December 10, killing six people inside who had not been instructed by Amazon officials on safety protocol. They ran to a bathroom for protection, but the outside walls collapsed on them.

A lawsuit against Amazon was filed in January on behalf of the family of 26-year-old Austin McEwen, a driver who was killed in the facility when the tornado struck on December 10, 2021.

The lawsuits are pending in state court in downstate Illinois.

The post Amazon Safety Executive Exiting as Lawsuits Continue for Lack of Safety Measures Following Deadly Tornado in Illinois appeared first on Clifford Law Offices.

The U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA) late afternoon on April 26, 2022, released its findings following a safety protocol investigation of a 115,000-foot structure that collapsed during a tornado that struck the warehouse with workers inside when meteorological warnings were issued up to a day before of an impending tornado to strike that area. The letter from OSHA’s Area Director to Amazon noted that, “Amazon managers began directing employees to go to the restroom in response to local weather alerts and tornado warnings approximately 10 minutes prior to the tornado’s touch down.”

In the letter to Amazon, the OSHA Area Director pointed out their “workplace conditions [that] have been identified as risk factors.” They included a locked-up megaphone, the possible lack of shelter-in-place drills for employees, and the lack of a plan that “did not specifically identify the location of the designated shelter area for the facility.”

The letter went on to recommend three “necessary steps” that Amazon should voluntarily take “to eliminate or materially reduce your employees’ exposure to the risk factors described above.” Those steps included clearly identified audible warnings, training and drills for all who work throughout the facility including vendors, and site-specific information on severe weather emergency plans including, “any applicable exit route, exit door, shelter-in-place, or any other emergency plan guidance, should be identified within the written emergency plan.”

Clifford Law Offices represents the family of Austin McEwen, 26, a delivery driver who was ordered back to the Amazon facility despite winds increasing in the area the afternoon of Dec. 10, 2021. He was directed to take shelter in a bathroom with five others when the concrete structure collapsed on them, killing all six of them. The OSHA letter points out, “Some employees were unaware the designated tornado shelter was the restroom located in the northern portion of the building and instead took shelter in the restroom located in the southern portion of the building.” The southern portion of the Amazon building is the area that collapsed Dec. 10.

Clifford Law Offices filed a lawsuit earlier this year against Amazon as well as named the construction, design and engineering companies responsible for the architecture and development of the warehouse.

Within days of the tragedy, Amazon advertised on LinkedIn for a “detail-oriented Chief Meteorologist at Amazon’s Global Security Operation Center in Goodyear, Arizona.”

For further information, please contact Clifford Law Offices’ Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).

www.CliffordLaw.com

Media

U.S. Department of Labor OSHA Letter to Amazon dated April 26, 2022

The post Clifford Law Offices Reacts to OSHA Report on Amazon Distribution Center Collapse appeared first on Clifford Law Offices.

The government structural engineer who took photos wrote in his report on the day of the tornado, Dec. 10, 2021, that supporting columns that had collapsed inward from the winds, “I noted that a considerable number of the columns were not standing a [sic] appeared to have been lifted out of the floor. Allen Smith [a fellow professional engineer/Structures Specialist from St. Louis UASI – Urban Area Security Initiative — Strike Team 4] noticed the same thing and described it accurately as a peg coming out of a hole.”

These support columns that are to be anchored to the ground hold up the trusses that are used to secure the roof. The structural engineer goes on to say, “I became concerned when I noticed that none of the columns appeared to be ripped or torn from the base. This was especially concerning to me knowing that the International Building Code (IBC) requires structural members to be secured against uplift from wind loads, among other things (2021 IBC Section 1604.8.1). Looking at the base of the columns more closely, I could find no weld or bolted connection at the base of any column, but only a bead of what appeared to be some sort of caulk around the column at the finished floor line. … we were very concerned about the stability of the remaining walls and suspended steelwork.”

Six people died huddled in a bathroom during that Dec. 10, 2021 tornado in downstate Illinois. Among those killed was Austin McEwen, age 26, who through text messages to his family said he was told to return to the warehouse and continue working, despite increasing warnings for up to as much as a day that a tornado was headed to Edwardsville. The tragedy occurred during the busy holiday delivery season.

Clifford Law Offices filed a lawsuit against Amazon in January in downstate Illinois state court on behalf of the McEwen family. Despite ample weather warnings and repeated severe weather alerts as early as the day before, Amazon instructed its employees to continue working through the storm, leaving only moments for workers to seek shelter in inadequate areas. Employee accounts of the tornado, including some chilling 9-1-1 calls that have been made public, express confusion, disorganization, and terror inside the facility.

The McEwen family is suing Amazon, as well as the construction, design, and engineering companies who were responsible for the architecture and development of the warehouse. The family expressed its hopes that this lawsuit brings justice to all the families who have been affected by this tragedy and its intent to hold Amazon accountable for its lack of proper care for its workers. Amazon reportedly has 110 similar distribution centers around the country.

 Clifford Law Offices will be holding a Zoom press conference Tuesday, April 12th at 9 a.m. CST to discuss the latest developments uncovered in the Amazon tragedy. To join the press conference and to obtain a copy of the FOIA report obtained by Clifford Law Offices, go to:

Clifford Law Offices is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom Press Conference.
When: Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Topic: News Conference
Time: 9 a.m. Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87939422757?pwd=ZzhQamszalNEaHBIckNKRnRTSHRqQT09

Meeting ID: 879 3942 2757
Passcode: 267282

Footage of 4/12/22 Conference 

FOIA Engineer’s Report

Photo of Austin McEwen

Click here to hear some of the 9-1-1 calls.

PLAINTIFF’S SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT AT LAW 

For further information, please contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).

www.CliffordLaw.com

The post UPDATED ZOOM INVITE: APRIL 12TH 9 A.M. (CST) PRESS CONFERENCE Clifford Law Offices’ FOIA Request Reveals Structural Deficiencies in Devastating Amazon Warehouse Collapse in Downstate Illinois appeared first on Clifford Law Offices.

The government structural engineer who took photos wrote in his report on the day of the tornado, Dec. 10, 2021, that supporting columns that had collapsed inward from the winds, “I noted that a considerable number of the columns were not standing a [sic] appeared to have been lifted out of the floor. Allen Smith [a fellow professional engineer/Structures Specialist from St. Louis UASI – Urban Area Security Initiative — Strike Team 4] noticed the same thing and described it accurately as a peg coming out of a hole.”

These support columns that are to be anchored to the ground hold up the trusses that are used to secure the roof. The structural engineer goes on to say, “I became concerned when I noticed that none of the columns appeared to be ripped or torn from the base. This was especially concerning to me knowing that the International Building Code (IBC) requires structural members to be secured against uplift from wind loads, among other things (2021 IBC Section 1604.8.1). Looking at the base of the columns more closely, I could find no weld or bolted connection at the base of any column, but only a bead of what appeared to be some sort of caulk around the column at the finished floor line. … we were very concerned about the stability of the remaining walls and suspended steelwork.” 

Six people died huddled in a bathroom during that Dec. 10, 2021 tornado in downstate Illinois. Among those killed was Austin McEwen, age 26, who through text messages to his family said he was told to return to the warehouse and continue working, despite increasing warnings for up to as much as a day that a tornado was headed to Edwardsville. The tragedy occurred during the busy holiday delivery season.

The firm filed a lawsuit against Amazon in January in downstate Illinois state court on behalf of the McEwen family. Despite ample weather warnings and repeated severe weather alerts as early as the day before, Amazon instructed its employees to continue working through the storm, leaving only moments for workers to seek shelter in inadequate areas. Employee accounts of the tornado, including some chilling 9-1-1 calls that have been made public, express confusion, disorganization, and terror inside the facility.

The McEwen family is suing Amazon, as well as the construction, design, and engineering companies who were responsible for the architecture and development of the warehouse. The family expressed its hopes that this lawsuit brings justice to all the families who have been affected by this tragedy and its intent to hold Amazon accountable for its lack of proper care for its workers. Amazon reportedly has 110 similar distribution centers around the country.

Clifford Law Offices, will be holding a Zoom press conference Tuesday at 9 a.m. CST to discuss the latest developments uncovered in the Amazon tragedy. 

To join the press conference and to obtain a copy of the FOIA report obtained by Clifford Law Offices, go to:

Clifford Law Offices is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom Press Conference. 
When: Tuesday, April 12, 2022
Topic: News Conference 
Time: 9 a.m. Central Time (US and Canada) 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87939422757?pwd=ZzhQamszalNEaHBIckNKRnRTSHRqQT09

Meeting ID: 879 3942 2757
Passcode: 267282 
Dial by your location (audio only)
 +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago) 
 
Meeting ID: 812 5320 7355 
Passcode: 962059 

Photo of Austin McEwen

Click here to hear some of the 9-1-1 calls.

PLAINTIFF’S SECOND AMENDED COMPLAINT AT LAW 

For further information, please contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).

www.CliffordLaw.com

The post Clifford Law Offices’ FOIA Request Reveals Structural Deficiencies in Devastating Amazon Warehouse Collapse in Downstate Illinois: PRESS CONFERENCE TUESDAY 9 A.M. (CST) appeared first on Clifford Law Offices.

Austin McEwen, an independent contractor of Amazon, driving for an Amazon Delivery Service Partner, was one of numerous individuals required to work during an Amazon “peak season” when Amazon management knew that conditions were highly unsafe as tornado warnings had been issued. Tornado warnings had been issued for southwestern Illinois as early as December 9, 2021, and were re-issued on several occasions with growing concern and intensity over the next 24 hours.

Initial investigation reveals that workers at the facility, including McEwen, were required to continue working instead of being told to evacuate when it was known of the possibility of a major tornado. In addition, initial investigation reveals that the Amazon facility had no basement shelter despite this area of Illinois being prone to tornadoes, and no safety plan or adequate emergency plan required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Further, reports indicate that Amazon directed McEwen and five others that were killed to shelter in a bathroom when Amazon knew or should have known that this location would not protect them. It is believed this is the first lawsuit filed against Amazon for this tragically avoidable incident.

Early investigative reports have indicated that Amazon management knew or should have known of this tornado more than 24 hours before it destroyed the facility. The complaint alleges that Amazon failed to adhere to OSHA preparedness plans for inclement weather, could have evacuated workers but chose to have workers continue working during a peak holiday season, and failed to have a facility that contained a basement shelter. OSHA has opened an investigation into workplace safety at the fulfillment center following this tragic event.

In addition, members of Congress have sent a letter to Amazon and its CEO Jeff Bezos seeking answers. The E-3 tornado is reported to have hit the distribution center in downstate Illinois Edwardsville at 8:28 p.m. with winds reaching speeds of 150 mph. The roof of the massive facility collapsed, leveling the building.

The complaint will be e-filed in Madison County State Court located in downstate Edwardsville, Illinois.

Clifford Law Offices held a Zoom press conference on the filing against Amazon at 12 noon Monday, January 17, 2022. McEwen’s mother, Alice McEwen, made a statement.

The press conference can be viewed here.

For further information, contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).

www.CliffordLaw.com

Media

Alice McEwen Complaint

Photo of Austin McEwen Courtesy: Clifford Law Offices

Photo of Alice McEwen and Austin McEwen Courtesy: Clifford Law Offices

Press Conference Footage from 1/17/2022

The post Clifford Law Offices to File First Lawsuit Against Amazon on Behalf of Family of Downstate Delivery Driver Killed at Distribution Center During Tornado appeared first on Clifford Law Offices.

The incident mirrors what occurred in Carroll County, Illinois, 10 years ago when a young man fell into a grain bin and two others jumped in to save him. In that incident, rescuers were able to save only one of the young men who suffocated when they became engulfed in the grain like quicksand.

“Grain bin suffocations are avoidable tragedies,” said Kevin P. Durkin, Partner at Clifford Law Offices who obtained a record $16 million verdict in a trial on behalf of the two families who lost loved ones 10 years ago. “Grain bin operators need to know that the lives of people are in their hands. Proper training and safety precautions must be followed so that people don’t suffer these unspeakable losses.”

The worker who was killed in yesterday’s tragedy had been a worker there for 40 years in the facility near Grant Park near Kankakee, IL. Rescuers were able to locate the man who tried to save the worker yesterday because he had a two-way radio on him.

Durkin is available to speak to the media regarding grain bin suffocations.

For further information or to contact Kevin Durkin, call Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).

The post Grain Bin Entrapment Tragedy Repeats Itself in Downstate Illinois With Death of Worker; Man Jumps in to Rescue Entrapped Worker is Saved appeared first on Clifford Law Offices.

Although winds gusted off the lake in what is known as the Windy City, Tara Molina reported that a light pole buckled over and fell right into the middle of southbound traffic heading into the city near the Gold Coast. No one was reported hurt.

Molina reported that witnesses said they observed that the light pole was rusted out at the base. The incident caused Chicago police to block three lanes of traffic, which snarled the already busy travel times the day before Thanksgiving.

Just last week, another light pole came crashing down in Chicago’s Loop near the State of Illinois Building known as the Thompson Center, striking a woman and sending her to the hospital in an ambulance. And CBS2-Chicago reported that the week before that a city traffic light pole snapped and fell onto a sport utility vehicle on Stony Island Avenue at 73rd Street destroying a person’s car.

In fact, CBS2-Chicago has been following this story since 2015 and has uncovered that hundreds of light poles have rusted and collapsed, according to reports made to the city. Plastic decorative moldings have been placed around the base of many of these poles and the rusted bottoms are not apparent.

CBS2-Chicago investigators have stated they have brought this to the attention of experts who have said that city inspections of all city light poles are long overdue.

The post Another Apparent Rusted Light Pole Falls on Busy Traffic Day Blocking Three Lanes on Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive appeared first on Clifford Law Offices.

CBS-Channel 2 in Chicago has presented several investigative stories over the past couple of years about this issue, asking city and state officials why regular inspections of these street poles are not conducted. Answers have not been forthcoming.

In the most recent story, Channel 2 reported that instead the city has placed plastic decorative covers at the bottom that actually hide the rust on the aging poles. It also was reported that at least two poles in that area, which has the second highest number of complaints in the City of falling street poles, were removed.

If you or a loved one has been struck by a street or light pole that fell in Chicago or the Chicagoland area, please contact Clifford Law Offices online or call us a 312-899-9090.

The post Another Innocent Pedestrian Struck by Rusted Falling Light Pole in Chicago appeared first on Clifford Law Offices.