H&R Block and property owners sued over woman's sidewalk slip

A Madison County woman is suing the owners of an Alton shopping center and its tenants after she allegedly slipped on an icy sidewalk.

Ashley Welch filed the complaint Feb. 4 in Madison County Circuit Court against KRC Alton 802 Inc., Kimco Realty Corporation and Alton Farm & Supply Company. H&R Block Inc. and HRB Tax Group are also named as defendants.

Welch says she was walking on the sidewalk in front of the H&R Block in the Beltline Highway Shopping Center in February 2011 when she slipped and fell on an accumulation of ice and snow. According to the complaint, snow had been cleared from the parking lot by the defendants and piled near the sidewalks in front of the business.

Welch accuses the defendants of negligence for allegedly failing to properly remove the snow and allowing it to freeze on the stores' sidewalks.

She asks for more than $250,000 in damages for medical bills, lost wages and court fees. Attorney Michael P. Glisson of Alton represents Welch.

Madison County Circuit Court Case No. 13-L-175