Woman blames frozen downspout, Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital for fall

A woman is suing a Downers Grove hospital over claims neglect of a frozen downspout caused her to fall and sustain injuries.

Evelyn Punzalan filed suit Feb. 9 in Cook County Circuit Court against Advocate Health and Hospitals Corp., doing business as Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital.

Punzalan claims the medical facility’s adjoining grounds and parking lots were not safely maintained on Nov. 13, 2013 and that the Highland Ave. entrance was covered with excessive snow and/or ice accumulation.

According to the suit, these conditions were created due to neglect of a frozen downspout and caused Punzalan to fall and injure herself. She accuses the defendants of  carelessly allowing ice and snow to remain untreated and dangerous conditions to exist.

She seeks more than $50,000 in damages and is represented by attorney Robert J. Adelman of Levin Riback Law Group in Chicago.

Cook County Circuit Court case number: 2015L001346.

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 that 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.