Pest control worker blames fall from loading dock on defective railing

An employee of a pest control company is suing an independent living facility, claiming its failure to maintain a railing on its loading dock caused him to fall.

Bill Purcell filed a premises liability lawsuit last month in Cook County Circuit Court against South Holland Home LLC, also known as Holland Home.

According to the complaint, Purcell was employed by Franklin Pest Solutions on April 16, 2014, when he went to Holland Home on Louis Avenue in South Holland to talk with the defendant's maintenance director for the purpose of soliciting pest control services.

Purcell alleges he and the maintenance director walked out to the loading dock area, where he sustained injuries after falling when the railing he was leaning on gave way. He accuses the defendant of failing to maintain, inspect and repaid the railing when it knew or should have known it was defective.

Chicago attorney I. Peter Polansky filed the suit on Purcell's behalf.

Cook County Circuit Court Case No. 2015001824.

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.