HomeGoods customer claims chair collapsed, fell on head

A man is suing a Northbook retail store, claiming its negligence in displaying furniture caused a chair to collapse and fall on his head.

Jason Slater filed a premises liability suit Dec. 11 in Cook County Circuit Court against HomeGoods Inc.

According to the complaint, Slater was at the HomeGoods store at 840 Willow Road in Northbrook on Jan. 29, 2013, when he sat in a chair displayed for sale to test out it for comfort. He claims the store constructed the chair in a way in which the legs were affixed backwards so that any customer who sat in it would cause it collapse.

Because of the chair collapse, the suit alleges Slater "was caused to violently fall from the said chair upon the floor and while on the said floor, the chair fell upon ... his head and neck," causing bruises, cuts and other injuries to limbs and internal organs.

Slater alleges HomeGoods failed to maintain its passhas a duty to maintain its passageways, aisles and displays in a proper condition for customers to safely view and sample merchandise.

He seeks more than $50,000 in damages, plus costs, and is represented by Ben Goldwater of Goldwater & Associates in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2014L012848.

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 represents only one side of the story.