Damages Arising from Defects In the Roadway and Sidewalk In Illinois

In Sewell v. Board of Trustees of Southern Illinois University (1979), 32 Ill. Ct. Cl. 430, 433, the Court observed that the Court had held on many occasions that in order for a Claimant to recover damages arising from defects in the roadway (or sidewalk), the Claimant must prove the State was negligent and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the injury. The Court has also held that in order for Claimant to recover, Claimant must prove that the State had actual or constructive notice of the defect that caused the injury. See Weygandt v. State (1957), 22 Ill. Ct. Cl. 478, 485. In Bloom v. State (1957), 22 Ill. Ct. Cl. 582, 584, the Court held that the same rule is applicable to sidewalks maintained by the State. The State has a duty to exercise reasonable care in the maintenance of its highways so that dangerous conditions likely to injure persons lawfully there shall not exist.