Legal Question in Personal Injury in Illinois

I am very sorry to hear about what happened to you.

In Illinois, city employees and cities generally have limited immunity from such suits. 745 ILCS 10/1-101.1. However, it is well-established that the city owes you a duty "to exercise ordinary care to maintain public property in a reasonably safe condition so that a person acting with ordinary care will not be injured." In plain English, this means that a jury may find that the hole was not maintained in a reasonably safe condition.

Per the case law, there are other factors that the jury may consider in finding the city at fault. These include the (a) size and depth of hole (b) whether hole was natural or man made (c) length of time hole was allowed to exist (d) foreseeability of injury (e) notice. Ten Eicken v. Johnson, 1 Ill. App. 3d 165, 273 N.E.2d 633 (1st Dist. 1971).

Speaking generally, one concern I may have is that the leaves covering the holes caused your injury. This may be a condition that the city is not responsible for. Do you think that a negligent homeowner swept the leaves over the hole? Or that perhaps the wind swept the leaves there? Without knowing more facts about your case, I would hesitate to tell you whether the city may be liable.

Disclaimer: I am not your attorney and any advice is generally applicable without knowing more about the facts of your case.