Woman blames DesPlaines library, city for sidewalk fall

Several public entities in a Cook County suburb should be held liable for injuries allegedly caused by a chipped sidewalk outside of a library.

Mary Baggot filed suit July 21 in Cook County Circuit Court against the City of DesPlaines, the DesPlaines Public Library and the library's board of trustees.

According to the complaint, Baggot was walking on a sidewalk adjacent to the library at 1501 Ellinwood St. on Aug. 9, 2013, when she tripped and fell over the chipped and broken sidewalk, causing serious injuries.

The defendants are accused of carelessly constructing and maintaining the walkway in a broken and chipped condition, carelessly allowing it to remain in a dangerous condition, failing to repair the walkway and failing to warn the public about its dangerous condition.

Baggot is seeking damages in excess of $50,000 and is represented by Chicago attorney Charles E. Adler of Alder Law Offices Ltd.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2014L007616.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed in 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 represents only one side of the story.