Trial Magazine

Doe and his family went sledding on a hill located in a central Illinois municipality. While descending the hill with his daughter, Doe attempted to steer and stop their sled, which had shifted away from their intended location. Unable to stop, Doe pushed his daughter off the sled just before he collided violently with an unbarricaded metal fence post. Doe suffered paraplegia as a result of the incident.

Suit against the municipality alleged negligence. The plaintiff asserted that there had been another incident years before involving a sledder who crashed into a metal fence post at the base of the hill. The defendant failed to follow a risk management specialist’s subsequent recommendation to line the sledding hill with a V-shaped pattern of hay bales, the plaintiff argued.

The parties settled for $4.91 million.

Citation: Doe v. Roe Municipality, Confidential Dkt. No. (Confidential Jxn., Ct., & Date).

Plaintiff counsel: AAJ members Craig D. Brown and Christopher J. Warmbold, both of St. Charles, Ill.; AAJ member James McPhedran, Chicago; and Patrick J. Herrmann, Peru, Ill.