Woman blames pawn shop for falling off stool while getting mink coat

A woman is suing the owner of a Chicago pawn shop, claiming she was injured while collecting a mink coat she had given as collateral for a loan she allegedly paid off.

Pamela Andregevic filed a premises liability lawsuit Sept. 16 in Cook County Circuit Court against ABC Resale Inc., doing business as Royal Pawn Shop.

According to the complaint, Andregevic obtained a loan from the pawn shop on South Clark Street in Chicago on Jan. 31, 2013, and provided a mink coat as collateral.

Andregevic claims she repaid the loan in full March 20, 2013, and after repeated demands for the return of the coat, had to appear at the shop in person Dec. 19, 2013 to ask for the return of the coat.

The suit alleges she was told to go into the back room to retrieve it herself, which she did, and when she spotted the coat at a height she could not reach, she stepped onto a stool, the top of which spun and caused her to fall, sustaining severe injuries.

The defendant is accused of failing to maintain its premises and retrieve the coat for the customer.

Andregevic is seeking more than $50,000 in damages and is represented by attorney Richard C. Sklare of Sklare Law Group in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014L009665.

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 only represents one side of the story.