AccuWeather Forensic Meteorologist Provides Expert Testimony in Chicago Slip-and-Fall Case
A woman sued after falling in front of a Walgreens store
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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - JANUARY 25: Pedestrians navigate a heavily snow-covered sidewalk on State Street as winter storm blankets Chicago on January 25, 2026, in Illinois, Unites States. Temperatures in the city dropped to a high of â'7°C, with wind chills reaching as low as â'22°C. (Photo by Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images)
What was the case?
A woman sued Walgreens and a snow removal company after she sustained injuries from a slip-and-fall on ice in front of a Walgreens store in Cook County, Illinois on the morning of March 28, 2022.
What did AccuWeather do?
AccuWeather’s expert forensic meteorologists determined that approximately 0.70-0.80 of an inch of rain fell at the location from March 22-24 with most of the rain falling on March 23. The ground was soaked and puddles formed in low lying and poor drainage areas.
Other than a few light showers or flurries that occurred on March 25 and before daybreak on March 26, the weather was dry and very windy March 25-27. Relative humidity fell significantly during this time, which caused rapid drying conditions. Most surfaces completely dried, except isolated puddles in deeper low lying and poor drainage areas.
Colder air arrived during the evening of March 26 and isolated puddles froze if left untreated. Rapid drying conditions also caused isolated frozen puddles in deeper low-lying and poor drainage areas to dry and shrink due to sublimation, where ice evaporates directly into the atmosphere. Photographs of the ground in front of Walgreens taken after the slip-and-fall showed the outline of an area in one of the parking stalls that was salted.
Photographs of the location of the slip and fall did not show deeper low-lying and poor drainage areas, but instead some wide and shallow depressions that would have completely dried before the incident, due to exposure to strong winds and low humidity.
AccuWeather expert Forensic Meteorologist Bob Smerbeck testified that the water that froze into the puddle that the plaintiff slipped and fell on was not caused by the rain that fell between March 22-24.
Outcome
The case was settled in favor of the defendants.
Why attorneys and insurers use AccuWeather Forensics
AccuWeather Forensic Meteorologists provide objective weather reconstruction and analysis that clarify environmental conditions surrounding disputed events. Using the greatest collection of weather-related data available, including publicly available and proprietary data sets, our experts analyze historical weather records, local observation data, snow and ice conditions, precipitation history and temperature trends to support insurance disputes, accident investigations, property damage cases and other litigation.
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