2016-L-001439 (Illinois, Cook County)
Plaintiff, a 6 year old child was playing on the monkey bars at preschool and fell off, injuring herself. Plaintiff brought suit against the childcare facility, alleging negligent aid, negligent supervision, premises liability, and reimbursement under the Family Expense Act. Specifically plaintiff alleged that the childcare facility allowed too many children on the playground at the same time and didn’t have enough staff, and ultimately took the case to trial. Jessica Biagi, defending the childcare facility, showed the facility itself was not negligent, and they not only followed all required regulations regarding staffing but in fact were following even more stringent voluntary regulations with a smaller ratio of children to staff. Ultimately, Jessica showed the jury that sometimes children running around on a playground simply fall down, and while unfortunate it does not indicate negligence on the part of the facility. Ultimately the jury agreed that there was nothing the facility could have done to prevent the injury and returned a full defense verdict after two hours of deliberation.
