Aurora woman gets $4.5 million after being hit by metal door closer

A 42-year-old Aurora woman won a $4.5 million settlement for injuries she suffered as a result of being hit by a metal door closer than had detached at a local business, according to a news release from her law firm.

The verdict came late Wednesday. The news release from Clifford Law Offices described the accident as such:

"Amy Skinger of Aurora was entering the Wells Fargo mortgage lender retail office on Fox Valley Road in Aurora on May 14, 2012, when without warning a metal door closer unit detached, swung and struck her in the head, knocking her to her knees, and severely aggravating her pre-existing spondylosis," the release said. "Skinger required both a posterior and anterior cervical fusion at the C3-C4 and C4-C5 levels of her neck and an intrathecal pain pump following the incident. She had a medical history that included a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis in 2009 and a long-standing degenerative disease in her neck."

The law firm described the verdict as a record in DuPage County for a single plaintiff in a nonmedical malpractice case. A six-man, five-woman jury returned the verdict in two hours before DuPage County Judge Kenneth L. Popejoy in Wheaton after a two-week trial. The jury found Wells Fargo to be 80 percent responsible for the accident, and Cannella NY Square, LLC, the owner of the property, 20 percent at fault, according to the release.