Chicago Injury Attorney Blog

Loretta Corbett and Gwen Davis are suing the managers and owners of a South Side apartment for Chicago premises liability for the injuries their two children sustained during an acid attack that occurred on Tuesday. The moms are seeking unspecified damages.

Corbett’s son, 10-year-old Adrian Bennett and Davis’ daughter, 11-year-old Nala Armstrong, sustained burn injuries when another boy, age 13, poured a bottle of Black Zap drain cleaner, which contains 93% sulfuric acid, on them. The teenager has been charged with heinous battery.

Corbett and Davis are accusing building owners Bernice and Greg Haynes and property manager Chicago Rental Solutions of negligence for allowing a maintenance worker that had cleaned the building to leave the chemicals on the back porch. Greg Haynes argues that it was the teen that poured the acid and that the building does not use chemicals on the property.

Unfortunately, acid attacks, although not uncommon, do happen. The injuries sustained can be very painful, disfiguring, and life-altering. There may be a way to hold negligent parties liable for your injuries, pain, and suffering.

Recently, A Logan Square woman filed her Cook County injury lawsuit for severe burns she suffered during a 2008 acid attack. Esperanza Medina contends that was assaulted with acid because she and a woman charged with masterminding the attack had dated the same man. The incident left Medina permanently disfigured. She is suing her alleged attackers.

In June, two people sustained serious injuries when an attacker assaulted them during a Chicago acid attack accident close to Strohacker Park.

Chicago Personal Injury
Victims of violent crimes may be able to sue their assailants for Chicago personal injury. There also may be other liable parties that played a role—whether intentionally or not—in allowing the crime to occur.

Lawsuit filed by moms of kids burned in acid attack, Chicago Breaking News, August 27, 2010

Logan Square acid attack victim sues suspects, Chicago Tribune, July 26, 2010

Acid Attack Injures Two, NBC Chicago, June 15, 2010

Related Web Resource:
Premises Liability, Nolo

Thursday’s fire at the high-rise Plaza on DeWitt claimed the life of 1 person and injured 12. Killed in the fire was 84-year-old Beeta Bihl, whose severely burned body was found close to the front of her residence. Among the 12 who were injured, seven were residents and five were firefighters.

Chicago fire officials think that an old toaster in Bihl’s unit may have started the blaze. However, one resident is blaming the tragic incident on the fact that the 44-story building does not have sprinklers in the residential units. The Plaza on DeWitt does have sprinklers in the pump room, parking garage, and trash compactor areas.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Maureen Marley has spent the last eight years trying to get the City Council and her condo board to install the safety devices. She says they have ignored her concerns.

The city of Chicago requires that all high-rises constructed after 1975 have sprinkler systems. Bihl and Marley’s Gold Coast building was built in the 1960’s.

This is not the first fire-related fatality at 260 E. Chestnut Street. Another resident died in 2002 when a fire broke out in her unit. 11 people, 8 of them firefighters, were injured.

Chicago Premises Liability
Property owners and/or management can be held liable for Chicago premises liability if an unsafe condition on a premise that could have or should have been remedied causes injury or death. Slip and fall accidents, dog attacks, inadequate security, safety hazards, falling objects, improperly secured pools and hot tubs, and windows that a person can easily fall out off, are some examples of the many reasons why an injury victim and/or his/her family may choose to pursue an Illinois premises liability or wrongful death claim.

High-rise fire: Resident angry that residential units lacked sprinklers, Chicago Tribune, December 13, 2009

Fatal High-Rise Fire on Chestnut in Chicago Kills Beeta Bihl, Injures 12, Arlington Cardinal, December 10, 2009

Related Web Resources:
Plaza on DeWitt

Department of Buildings, Chicago

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