Women trips on cracked sidewalk: Negligent maintenance: Failure to warn: Loss of eye: Emotional distress: Settlement

Law Reporter, Sep 1999

Sherman v. Winston Towers Condominium Assoc. No. 2., Ill.,

Cook County Cir. Ct., No. 96 L 04321, Apr. 15, 1999.

Sherman, 66, tripped and fell on a severely broken and cracked sidewalk next to a condominium entrance. A lens popped from her eyeglasses and sliced into her right eyeball. She underwent two different operations, the first for removal of her right eye, the second for the insertion of a prosthesis. She now suffers from giant papillary conjunctivitis, which results from the body's efforts to reject the prosthetic eye. She is also receiving counseling for posttraumatic stress disorder.

Before the accident, Sherman was a fully tenured college professor. Although she had made arrangements to work part time before she lost her eye, she no longer teaches in the classroom because her limited vision prevents her from seeing the entire class at one time. She is unable to drive but teaches and mentors graduate students at her home. In addition, the accident has severely diminished her ability to care for her disabled husband.

Sherman and her husband sued the condominium complex, alleging failure to (1) maintain and repair the sidewalk such that it was in a reasonably safe condition and (2) warn of the sidewalk's dangerous condition.

Before trial, the parties settled for $750,000, to be paid by defendant's insurance company.

Plaintiffs' experts were John R Fodor, structural engineering, Chicago, Ill.; Marcia F. Grabowecky, cognitive neuroscience, Evanston, Ill.

Plaintiffs' Counsel:

*Charles A. Boyle, Chicago, Ill.