Slip and Fall

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Terri LoBianco v. Bonefish Grill, LLC

Case No.: 23-2213

Officials: Scudder, St. Eve, and Lee, Circuit Judges.

Focus:  Slip and Fall

Plaintiffs Terri and Louis LoBianco appealed a district court’s summary judgment favoring Bonefish Grill, LLC. Terri LoBianco had suffered a slip and fall at a Bonefish Grill restaurant in Skokie, Illinois, resulting in a dislocated hip and necessitating four surgeries. She alleged that her fall resulted from slipping on a pool of liquid negligently left uncleared by the restaurant. Louis LoBianco claimed loss of consortium due to his wife’s injuries. However, the district court ruled in favor of Bonefish Grill, stating that Terri LoBianco failed to establish the proximate cause of her fall and subsequent injury.

The appellate court took a different stance. The court concluded that Terri LoBianco consistently identified a liquid as the catalyst for her fall, doing so with unwavering certainty. Moreover, testimony from third parties lent support to her claim. This, the court determined, constituted more than mere speculation but was grounded in Terri’s sensory perception and consistent testimony.

Consequently, the appellate court overturned the district court’s summary judgment concerning Terri’s negligence claim and Louis’s loss of consortium claim. The case was sent back for trial, as the court determined that there existed adequate evidence to present a jury issue regarding whether liquid on Bonefish Grill’s floor indeed caused Terri’s slip and subsequent injury.

Remanded and reversed.

Decided 03/04/24

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