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"                      <p class=\"imgtitle\">Knapp</p>                                <p class=\"imgtitle\">Hayes</p>                                <p class=\"imgtitle\">Payne</p>           A Cahokia man's lawsuit against Illinois Bell Telephone and Illinois Power settled Monday morning in St. Clair County.<br /><br />The case was scheduled to go to trial this week in Associate Judge Vincent Lopinot's courtroom.<br /><br />The case was filed by Jesse J. Smith who blamed Illinois Bell Telephone and Illinois Power after he tripped and fell over a loose wire on the ground.<br /><br />Smith claimed he was walking on a hill in front of his trailer in Cahokia toward his friend Willie Hunt's mobile home on Aug. 17, 2009, when he fell.<br /><br />Before tripping on the wire, Smith became distracted by a transformer owned by Illinois Power that was making noise and producing sparks, according to the complaint filed Oct. 27, 2010.<br /><br />Because he was looking at the transformer and not the ground, Smith tripped on the wire, which detached from a telephone pole and fell to the ground, injuring his right shoulder, according to the complaint.<br /><br />In addition to his right shoulder injury, Smith became disabled, faced an increased risk of future harm and lost wages, his suit stated.<br /><br />He blamed Illinois Bell Telephone Company for allowing its wire to become detached from its telephone pole and for failing to repair the wire.<br /><br />Smith also blamed Illinois Power Company for failing to maintain its transformer and for allowing the transformer to fail.<br /><br />Smith originally sought a judgment of more than $50,000.<br /><br />Smith was represented by William J. Knapp and Del A. Goldenhersh of Knapp, Ohl and Green in Edwardsville.<br /><br />Timothy E. Hayes and Thomas M. Payne III of Timothy E. Hayes and Associates represented the defense.<br /><br /><em>St. Clair County Circuit Court case number: 10-L-564.</em><br /><br />"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://madisonrecord.com/stories/510573646-two-year-old-slip-and-fall-case-settles-right-before-trial-in-st-clair-county>