Renter sues HVAC contractor over broken ankle

A woman is suing the Madison County air conditioning repair company she says caused her to break an ankle.

Robin Harris filed the lawsuit Sept. 28 in Madison County Circuit Court against Den-Son Inc.

The alleged injury happened in July at a home on 900 East Acton Street. Harris says she was renting the house from the homeowner who had hired Den-Son to work on the air-conditioning system.

In order to access all of the necessary areas of the cooling system, Harris says Den-Son employees had to remove a panel from the floor in the hallway that the renter contends is poorly lit. She say the missing panel left a gaping hole in the floor.

While still working on the air conditioning, Den-Son technicians allegedly walked away from the hallways, leaving the gaping hole, without warning Harris or marking the area as a potential hazard.

Harris says she was walking from the bedroom to the kitchen and fell through the gap, breaking her left ankle. She says the fall also caused pulled muscles and damaged ligaments, cuts and bruising.

Harris says Den-Son should have been expected to perform the work in a reasonably safe manner and to be mindful of the people living in the house. She says she suffered pain and anguish and internal derangement because of the broken ankle and contends the defendant is to blame.
Harris is asking to be awarded more than $50,000 in damages along with court costs.

Attorney Richard G. Reed of Reed and Bruhn in Belleville is representing Harris.

Madison County Circuit Court Case No. 11-L-974