EDWARDSVILLE — A resident of an apartment block is suing its owner and manager over claims they failed to clear a walkway of snow and ice.
Natalie Mayes filed suit on Nov. 7 in Madison County Circuit Court against the owner of the Chouteau Bay Apartments in Granite City, ZM Management, and complex manager Melissa Clark.
Mayes claims she was attempting to use a wooden ramp outside her apartment when she slipped and fell on Feb. 12, 2018.
The ramp was left in a dangerous condition due to an "unnatural accumulation" of snow and ice, and there was no "slip-resistant material" on its surface, according to the complaint.
As a result, there was an "unreasonable risk of harm" to those people lawfully at the apartment complex on Whitsell Way, the suit states. The defendants and their staff could have expected that people on the premises would not have realized the danger, according to the suit.
The defendants are accused of negligence for allegedly failing to inspect the premises, failing to take action to make the walkway less dangerous, and failing to warn people of the pitfall present. The plaintiff states that the danger was not obvious to her.
"Defendants, by and through their employees, agents and/or servants, knew or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known that such ramp/walkway becomes slippery upon condensation and/or precipitation," the complaint alleges.
Mayes claims she suffered injuries "to her body, some of which may be permanent," including to her back.
The injuries left her enduring pain and suffering, both to her body and mind, mental anguish, and loss of a normal life, according to the complaint. She has paid medical expenses and lost wages, the suit claims.
Mayes, who is represented by Michael P. Glisson and Timothy J. Chartrand of Williamson, Webster, Falb & Glisson of Alton, is seeking more than $50,000 in damages.
Madison County Circuit Court case number 2019-L-1592.