Premises Liability-City of Chicago to Settle for $1.55M With Boy Badly Hurt by Tree Branch
March 8, 2011
This Chicago premises liability case was in the news:
Chicago taxpayers would pay $1.55 million to the family of a 4-year-old boy who was badly hurt when he was hit in the head by a fallen branch of a parkway tree newly trimmed by city workers, under a settlement advanced Monday by a City Council committee.
The accident that left Jaylen Raggs with a depressed skull fracture and other, lingering problems occurred on March 31, 2006 in the 9300 block of South Elizabeth.
Heavy winds caused the branch to break and fall on Jaylen’s head. The child was taken to Christ Hospital, then transferred to the University of Chicago Hospitals, where he underwent a craniotomy to reduce swelling of the brain.
He remained hospitalized for two and a half weeks, with weakness, muscle spasms and difficulty eating and swallowing. That was followed by months of physical and occupational therapy.
Nearly five years later, Jaylen still suffers from a “permanent left-foot drop that has left him with a slight limp.” His verbal abilities have suffered, and he has fallen behind in school, his experts further argue.
via City to settle for $1.55 million with boy badly hurt by tree branch – Chicago Sun-Times.
