On January 10, 2010, Brenda Alcala of Texas was in Illinois for business. Records from the National Weather Service show that the city of Moline, IL, where the Bettendorf Marriott Courtyard is located, had three consecutive days of below zero cold. On January 10, it was a -15 degrees overnight low. Those were the conditions when Brenda Alcala slipped and fell just outside the doors of her hotel.
The 54 year-old woman sued the hotel, claiming the hotel had created a hazard by failing to properly maintain the sidewalks, in terms of snow and ice removal, in the face of serious weather conditions. According to Alcala and other witnesses, people entering the hotel had no other choice than to walk over the slippery snow, because it was covering both the entrance and sidewalk to the hotel.
Although, at first glance, some onlookers might have argued that Alcala herself was partly negligent, for walking over the snowy walkway, the winter-familiar jury disagreed. The Illinois jury awarded Alcala $1.2 million in personal injury damages. The jury found that Alcala did not act recklessly at all, rather that she merely stayed on the sidewalk intended for hotel customers. It wasn’t the snow that made Alcala fall, she argued, instead, that it was the hotel’s negligence in failing to maintain the sidewalk. This hefty jury award should serve as a lesson to local businesses to shovel and salt walkways, and to keep their patrons safe.
When you slip and fall on ice or snow due to no fault of your own, call the expertsat our Boston law firm to learn whether you are entitled to relief. Please call 617-787-3700 or email info@gilhoylaw.com, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to speak with an expert Massachusetts slip and fall accident attorney, Massachusetts snow and ice accident attorney, Massachusetts personal injury attorney or Massachusetts wrongful death attorney.
If you would like to talk to an expert in Massachusetts personal injury law, call 617-787-3700 for a free, confidential consultation with one of our highly skilled Boston slip and fall lawyers, Boston personal injury lawyers or Boston, MA wrongful death lawyers.
Please contact our expert Boston, MA slip and fall law office at 617-787-3700 or email us at info@gilhoylaw.com.
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