BELLEVILLE – A mother alleges her minor son was injured while clearing a vacant lot owned by the city of East St. Louis and its park district.
Quana Williams, individually and as mother and next friend of Jimmie Harvey III, a minor, filed a complaint on Oct. 13 in the St. Clair County Circuit Court against Kim Haywood Sr. the city of East St. Louis and East St. Louis Park District, alleging negligence.
According to the complaint, on Oct. 15, 2016, Haywood hired Harvey and other children to perform work on vacant lots owned by East St. Louis and the park district. The suit states that Harvey fell while moving logs on a vacant lot and sustained two fractures in his right leg. According to the suit, Harvey was 12 at the time of the incident and was paid $3 by Haywood.
The plaintiffs allege the defendants failed to supervise and instruct children regarding the work, failed to maintain a reasonably safe property and violated the local, state and federal laws and regulations regarding child labor.
The plaintiffs seek judgment in an amount greater than $75,000, plus costs.
They are represented by J. Ryan Kelly and Justin M. Stephens of Stephens Kelly Law in St. Louis.
St. Clair County Circuit Court case number 17-L-594