'Steep crumbly' road conditions allegedly responsible for injuries

Maxine Watkins filed suit against the City of Alton seeking damages in excess of $50,000 for injuries she sustained from a fall on ridged and grooved pavement on Clark Street.

In a suit filed in Madison County Circuit Court Sept. 1, Watkins alleges that on Sept. 2, 2004, she was getting out of a vehicle at 2316 Clark Street when the pavement gave way causing her to fall.

According to the complaint, Alton was repaving that portion of Clark Street at the time of the incident and substantial quantities of blacktop were placed on the roadway and driven over by rubber-tired tractors and other heavy equipment.

“The blacktop was not a smooth surface but, in fact, was ridged and grooved from the treads of the heavy equipment used to apply it,” the complaint states.

Watkins claims the blacktop was neither compacted nor shaped at the west edge of the street and was in a "steep crumbly" condition.

According to Watkins, she has suffered numerous and severe injuries for which she was treated at St. Anthony’s Hospital in Alton by Dr. Segrist of River Bend Physicians.

“The City of Alton has a duty to maintain its streets in a reasonably safe condition.”

Watkins is represented by Robert Larson of Alton.

The case has been assigned to Circuti Judge George Moran.

05 L 795