Man burned by water sues apartment manager

A Chicago man is suing over claims he was burned by scalding water.

Shawn Poellnitz filed a lawsuit Feb. 21 in the Cook County Circuit Court against Lakefront Properties Inc. and Ausencia Hinojosa, individually and doing business as Lakefront Properties.

According to the complaint, Poellnitz was a tenant on the defendants' property at 9045 S. Escanaba Ave. in Chicago on on Feb. 27, 2012, when he was burned by scalding hot water.

Poellnitz contends the defendants failed to exercise reasonable care in the maintenance of the bathrooms, allowed his bathroom to become and remain in a hazardous, defective and unsafe condition, failed to warn and had prior knowledge of the dangerous condition.

He is seeking damages in excess of the jurisdictional minimum and is being represented in the case by attorneys at Pope & Jaburek P.C. in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L001796.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in the Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note, a complaint represents an accusation by a private individual, not the government. It is not an indication of guilt, and it only represents one side of the story.