A college student who was struck by a car that skidded on ice obtained $5 million in a settlement against the City of Chicago for an accident that cost him his right leg. The ice was formed by a broken water main that the City failed to maintain.
Edwin Hill, a Chicago State University computer science student, was standing at the bus stop on the southwest corner of Indiana Avenue and 95th Street, heading to night classes on Nov. 20, 2008, when he was struck by a car driven by Denise Dickerson, also a defendant in the lawsuit. Dickerson was approaching the bus stop and lost control of her Mustang on a patch of black ice and spun out. Hill was pinned against a City lamp pole, resulting in an above-the-knee amputation of his right leg.
The negligence lawsuit alleged the ice was due to a water main leak on 95th Street, which was a condition existing for months that the City of Chicago failed to repair promptly. Two local business entrepreneurs were ready to testify that prior complaints had been made to the City of Chicago Department of Water Maintenance regarding the water main leakage, according to Corboy & Demetrio partner Philip H. Corboy, Jr. who along with Edward G. Willer, represents Hill.
“Edwin was a curious and meticulous college student when his life changed irrevocably in November 2008,” Corboy said. “However his infectious spirit has never been lost and while he’ll need to face great challenges in the future, I’m confident he’ll be able to live a productive life. With this settlement, he’ll be able to maintain the best prosthetic care available in the country,” Corboy added.
“Key testimony of a Chicago Department of Water Management worker established that thousands of gallons of water would leak out of the 95st Street water main, and based on the size of the leak and due to the cold weather, the water would go upward towards the street surface,” Willer said.
The City denied that written complaints about the leaking water main existed.
The case is Edwin J. Hill v. City of Chicago; Denise Dickerson; Cook County Circuit Court, Law Division; 09L8755
Corboy & Demetrio is a personal injury law firm that represents individuals and their families in serious personal injury and wrongful death cases. The Chicago law firm has acquired more than $3 billion in settlements and verdicts and has attained almost 600 settlements and verdicts in excess of $1 million.
