A Wisconsin-based insurance company claims it doesn't have a duty to defend a Cook County park district being sued by a girl who claims her thumb was crushed on a swing set.
In a complaint filed March 4 in Cook County Circuit Court, Acuity asked a judge to declare it does not have a duty to defend of indemnify Hodgkins Park District from a personal injury lawsuit brought by a minor girl.
The company's suit names the minor girl and her grandmother, Carolyn Raye, but only to extent they may have interest in it and seeks no relief from them.
According to the complaint, the girl filed suit Sept. 15 in the Cook County Circuit Court against Xccent and Hodgkins Park District and later amended it to add Hoppy's Landscaping, which had installed a Swing Flex on the park district's playground.
The minor claims she was on the Swing Flex on Oct. 7, 2012, when her thumb was caught and crushed between two parts of the equipment, causing her to sustain severe injuries.
Acuity asserts it doesn't have a duty to defend or indemnify Hodgkins Park District as an additional insured under a policy it issued to Hoppy's Landscaping because the playground equipment was installed before Oct. 7, 2012 and operations were not ongoing at the time of the injury.
The insurance company is represented by Joseph P. Postel and Justin K. Seigler of Lindsay Rappaport & Postel LLC in Chicago.
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.