Sheboygan facing civil suit over alleged wheelchair fall
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A personal injury lawsuit against the City of Sheboygan is going to trial next week, when a jury will decide whether to hold the city liable for injuries suffered when a man’s wheelchair tipped on a ramp between the street and sidewalk.
Ronald Behr filed suit in March 2010, seeking compensation for a May 2, 2009, incident at North 11th Street and St. Clair Avenue. A complaint filed in the case said Behr suffered “severe and permanent injuries” from the fall but offers no further detail.
The matter is set for a two-day trial beginning Monday before Judge Angela Sutkiewicz. The city is represented by outside counsel, Corrado Cirillo, a Sheboygan attorney specializing in personal injury defense.
The complaint says Behr was on a ramp from the sidewalk to the street when a piece of patched asphalt broke loose, causing his wheelchair to dig into the pavement, pitch forward and throw him to the ground. The suit alleges the repair work was done in a “careless and negligent manner” and that the city was aware of the danger of the “carelessly-patched asphalt.”
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages as determined at trial and reimbursement of attorney fees.
Cirillo’s response denies any negligence and says the city received no notice of a defect in the ramp. The response says Behr was “contributorily negligent,” and asks that he be ordered to reimburse the city for its attorney fees.
Behr filed the lawsuit after the Common Council refused his initial claim for damages. The Special Committee on Risk Management voted unanimously in September 2009 to deny the claim, which then alleged that Behr also suffered a similar fall at the intersection of 11th Street and Erie Avenue.
The Common Council will be briefed on the lawsuit in a special meeting Wednesday. The closed session meeting is “for the purpose of conferring with legal counsel for city who is rendering oral advice concerning strategy to be adopted with respect to litigation,” according to an agenda published Tuesday.
City Attorney Steve McLean declined to elaborate on the nature of the council meeting.
He said the city discussed a settlement with Behr but negotiations never reached the point of a formal offer.
Behr’s attorney, William Holbrook, did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment.