Slip and fall at O'Hare leads to dispute over insurance coverage

An insurance company is seeking release from liability in a lawsuit over a slip and fall at  O'Hare International Airport.

Argonaut Insurance Co. filed a complaint for declaratory judgment Nov. 25 in Cook County Circuit Court against ExpressJet Airline Inc. and Scrub Inc..

According to the complaint, Argonaut entered into a liability insurance policy with Scrub Inc., a janitorial company that worked for O'Hare that was sued, along with O'Hare and ExpressJet Airlines Inc., by a woman who claims she injured herself while boarding a plane via a slippery jet bridge.

Argonaut asserts it has no duty to defend or indemnify ExpressJet because its policy with Scrub does not provide coverage to the airport itself or any affiliated airlines.

In addition to a court declaration that it has no duty to defend or indemnify ExpressJet in the underlying lawsuit, Argonaut seeks court costs and any other relief the court deems just. The insurance company is represented by Tatum H. Lytle and other attorneys at Gordon & Reese in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014CH19001.

This is a report on a civil lawsuit filed at Cook County Circuit Court. The details in this report come from an original complaint filed by a plaintiff. Please note that 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.