First District Vacates Summary Judgment and Remands; Finding Trial Court Erred in Granting Judgment

For Immediate Release: June 29, 2009

Chicago, IL – A unanimous panel of justices in the Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, agreed with the Chicago-based law firm of Muslin & Sandberg that summary judgment was improper. In her complaint, the plaintiff alleged negligence and a res ipsa loquitur claim against each defendant for the second-degree burns she sustained during a medical procedure. The Court agreed that each of the defendants had a duty to protect the plaintiff from being burned by a sterilized instrument that retained heat, as the risk of injury was foreseeable.

WHAT: Rule 23 Order in Herring v. Abtahi, et al., Docket No. 1-08-1157 (June 29, 2009).

WHO: Craig M. Sandberg represented the plaintiff on direct appeal in the First District Appellate Court.