87-Year-Old Dies Weeks After Harrah's Door Malfunctions, Catapults Her: Lawsuit

JOLIET, IL - An 87-year-old woman from Chicago did not live to see her recent negligence lawsuit against Harrah's Joliet Casino Hotel work its way through Will County's judicial system. A patron of the popular downtown Joliet casino, Elaine T. Catuara died in late May, a matter of days after filing a civil lawsuit against Harrah's. The octogenarian visited Harrah's in mid-March to try her luck playing the slots. She lost. Then, on her way out, the casino's exit door malfunctioned, violently tossing her to the ground, her lawsuit states.

"She was a sweet, petite lady, and she loved going to Joliet," said her lawyer James P. McKay Jr. of the Chicago law firm Tomasik Kotin Kasserman. "We assert that the injuries Elaine Catuara suffered at Harrah's Joliet Casino, it absolutely played a significant role in causing her death.

"We will be amending the lawsuit ... alleging a wrongful death count," he said.

At the moment, McKay's negligence lawsuit on file at the Will County Courthouse states that the casino, located in the 100 block of North Joliet Street, had entrance and exit doors, separated by a vestibule area. Around 3:30 p.m. on March 14, Catuara was exiting through the first set of doors. Suddenly, trouble arose.

"Elaine T. Catuara was in the vestibule area when the previously opened door quickly closed on her, violently catapulting her to the floor," her lawsuit states. "Elaine T. Catuara was thrown to the ground and sustained severe injuries and has incurred substantial medical bills and other economic damages along with pain, suffering and loss of a normal life, disfigurement and other non-economic damages."

According to McKay, the 87-year-old Chicago woman was rushed by emergency ambulance from Harrah's to the Presence Saint Joseph's Medical Center. She remained hospitalized in Joliet for about three weeks. She had suffered fractures to her hip and to two vertebrae in her lower back, McKay said. Eventually, she was moved into a rehabilitation and nursing-care facility back in her native Cook County. Then she died. Her obituary appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times on June 1.

"It's just so sad for everyone related to her and connected to her," McKay said. "We're talking about a significant decline in her health from the moment that door struck and knocked Elaine to the floor. Elaine's survivors are entitled to be compensated due to the negligence of Harrah's Joliet Casino."

As a business, Harrah's invites adults to come inside to patronize its casino, therefore customers "coming in and out of the building" expect that the premises is "safe and secure," the lawyer said.

Chicago attorney James McKay

McKay told Joliet Patch he's already reviewed the Harrah's video footage of the incident. His lawsuit states that the hydraulic door-closer at the Harrah's casino "was broken, creating an unsafe condition for patrons exiting the premises."

"The door clearly malfunctioned; there is video of this," McKay said. "This happened to an 87-year-old great grandmother and a customer of Harrah's. She was there that day to play, I believe, the penny slots. She lost her money, and unfortunately as a result of the negligence of Harrah's, she suffered serious injuries that ultimately ended her life."

On Wednesday, Patch called Harrah's Joliet seeking comment regarding the lawsuit. However, a Harrah's media representative chose not to call back.

The negligence lawsuit against Harrah's seeks unspecified monetary damages on the plaintiff's behalf.

"Hopefully, this will never happen again to any customer of the Harrah's Joliet Casino, whether they are young or old," McKay said.

Image via Joliet Patch Editor John Ferak