An East Alton personal injury attorney known for suing large corporations over customer slip and falls is among five plaintiffs suing a Mexican restaurant for bad margaritas and chips.
Lon D. Weaver is representing himself and others in a civil suit against Casa Romero Restaurant at 521 East Airline Dr. in East Alton. The case was filed Jan. 31 in Madison County Circuit Court.
Weaver, Lynda K. Donohoo, Jennifer L. Donohoo, Carrie A. Guthrie and Bruce A. Bowermaster, claim they ate at the restaurant between May 23 and May 27, 2005, and were sickened by food "unfit for human consumption."
Each plaintiff seeks damages in excess of $50,000.
"Plaintiff was made diseased, disordered, infected and sick and so remained for a long time," each claimant alleges.
The plaintiffs also allege they have suffered a loss of earning capacity, experienced pain and suffering, suffered disability and disfigurement, lost wages and expended large sums of money to be cured.
Last spring Weaver filed lawsuits against Shop 'N Save and Wal-Mart on behalf of plaintiffs who were allegedly injured after slipping and falling on their premises.
Betty Jane Davies claims she slipped on transmission fluid in the parking lot of the Alton Shop N Save store and is suing for more than $50,000. In her May 31 suit she alleges extensive internal and external injuries.
Ella Walker, represented by Weaver, sued Wal-Mart May 24 claiming she sustained injuries after falling on a "foreign substance" at the Wood River store. She is seeking in excess of $50,000 in damages.
In June 2005, a defense verdict was reached in a personal injury case against Alton Belle Casino.
In the less-reported realm of Madison County's "LM" Civil Division--where the injured seek less than $50,000 in damages--it took a jury 90 minutes to clear Argosy Gaming Company of wrongdoing in a personal injury case filed by a Bethalto woman.
Represented by Weaver, Lorene Saylors was seeking a $15,000 judgment from Argosy.
She claimed permanent injuries from slipping on a "foreign substance" in the buffet line at the Alton Belle Casino in February 2002.