$750K Settlement In Harrah's Door Malfunction Death

JOLIET, IL — On March 14, 2017, 87-year-old Chicago resident Elaine Catuara was visiting Joliet's Harrah's Casino when one of the doors malfunctioned. The elderly woman was thrown to the ground and suffered severe and permanent injuries, according to court documents. She died two months later, on May 29, 2017. Now, her family's wrongful death lawsuit against Harrah's Joliet Casino Hotel has been resolved with an out of court settlement of $750,000, documents in the Will County Courthouse show. Of that amount, $250,000 goes to the plaintiff's Chicago law firm, Tomasik Kotin Kasserman LLC.

Another $5,585.93 will be taken out to pay for the plaintiff's legal expenses such as court fees, court records and depositions. That leaves $494,414 to be divided up among Catuara's five sons and two daughters, court records show.

According to the Will County civil lawsuit, "Elaine Catuara was lawfully on the (Harrah's Casino) premises as a patron ... On March 14, 2017, there existed two sets of doors separated by a vestibule area used by the public to enter and exit the defendant's premises ... at approximately 3:30 p.m., plaintiff's decedent, Elaine Catuara was exiting the defendant's premises through the first set of doors leading to the vestibule area.

"Elaine Catuara was in the vestibule area when the previously opened door quickly closed on her, violently catapulting her to the floor. At said time and place, the hydraulic door-closer on the door was broken, creating an unsafe condition for patrons exiting the premises," the settlement papers show.

The May 2017 wrongful death lawsuit was filed by attorney James P. McKay Jr. He alleged that Joliet's Harrah's Casino "failed to maintain its exit in a reasonably safe condition" and "failed to maintain the door in a reasonably safe condition."

All of Catuara's children will receive a wrongful death settlement payment of $70,630. They include: her daughters Felicia Bujanski and Mary Pannaralla as well as her sons, Angelo, Frank, Chad, Jeffrey and Joseph Catuara.