Granite City denies negligence in sidewalk trip and fall; Plaintiff says she has witnesses and evidence

A plaintiff suing the City of Granite City over a sidewalk trip and fall incident says she has witnesses and evidence to back up her claim.

Wanda L. Carmack and Donald Carmack filed suit June 17 in Madison County Circuit Court claiming Wanda was walking on a sidewalk at O’Hare and Erin streets last year which had been covered in grass and hid an elevation difference between slabs of more than two inches. She accuses the city of allowing grass to grow which hid the difference in elevation, failing to eliminate the height differences, ignoring prior complaints about the condition of the sidewalk and failing to mark the area with signs warning pedestrians.

The Carmacks are seeking damages in excess of $50,000, plus costs. They are represented by East Alton attorney Gregory M. Tobin of Pratt & Tobin PC.

On Sept. 10, Tobin filed Carmack's exhibit list which includes photos of the scene of the accident, as well as medical records, reports and bills. He also filed a witness list which includes a neighbor of the Carmacks, and an expert witness disclosure list which includes Dr, Mark Eavenson, a Granite City chiropractor and Dr. Matthew Gornet, an orthopedic surgeon from Chesterfield, Mo.

The City of Granite City, represented by Jane Unsell of Wood River, answered the complaint in July denying allegations and saying the city has immunity pursuant to the Illinois Tort Immunity Act.

Unsell also argues that any injuries Carmack may have suffered were caused in whole or in part by her contributory negligence in that she failed to keep a proper lookout where she was walking.

She also wrote that the city is entitled to a reduction in any judgment by an amount equal to the percentage of fault attributable to Carmack.

Madison County Circuit Court case number 14-L-878.