Slip and Fall Because of Moisture on the Floor Case

In Duble v. State (1967), 26 Ill. Ct. Cl. 87, a claimant who was injured because of moisture on the floor in a Secretary of State licensing facility was denied compensation because the Court found the moisture had accumulated as a result of weather conditions and was a risk the claimant assumed. A claimant in a negligence action must prove that respondent had a duty towards him, that respondent breached that duty, and that the breach was the proximate cause of claimant's injury. (Lucker v. Arlington Park Race Track Corp. (1986), 142 Ill. App. 3d 872, 492 N.E.2d 536, 97 Ill. Dec. 100). Negligence may be shown by circumstantial evidence, but liability may not be based upon surmise or speculation as to what might have happened to cause claimant's injury. McCormick v. Maplehurst Winter Sports, Ltd. (1988), 166 Ill. App. 3d 93, 519 N.E.2d 469, 116 Ill. Dec. 577.