Leonard v. Pitstick Dairy Lake & Park, Inc.

Plaintiff Richard Leonard was rendered a quadriplegic as a result of a spinal cord injury incurred when he performed a running dive in the shallow water at defendant’s commercial lake in La Salle County, Illinois. Plaintiff filed a suit for personal injuries against Pitstick Dairy Lake and Park, Inc., the corporate owner-operator of the beach, and after a lengthy jury trial, the jury returned a verdict for defendant. Plaintiff appeals.

The swimming lake was deepest in the center where two diving rafts were located and where the water was 11 feet deep. About 57 feet from the edge of the water,…