Lawsuit claims Indiana man injured at Joliet mall theater before Top Gun: Maverick showing

A 56-year-old man is suing the company that operates the Cinemark theater at the Louis Joliet Mall over allegations that he suffered serious injuries in a fall before he was going to see Top Gun: Maverick, one of the highest-grossing movies of 2022.

On May 11, Hyun Woo Lee, 56, of Crown Point, Indiana, filed a lawsuit against Cinemark Holdings over the incident that occurred on June 11, 2022 at the Cinemark theater at Louis Joliet Mall, 3340 Mall Loop Drive, Joliet. Cinemark Holdings operates the Joliet location.

Two other entities, Cinemark USA and Cinemark 1044, were named as defendants in the lawsuit as well.

Lee was with his friends on June 11, 2022 when he went to the Joliet theater to watch Top Gun: Maverick, according to his attorney, Diedre Baumann, of the Chicago law firm, Baumann and Shuldiner. She said he did not see the movie that day because of his injuries.

The lawsuit alleged that before Top Gun: Maverick began, Lee walked into the men’s restroom to use the facilities “in a reasonable and foreseeable manner.”

As Lee walked into the restroom and into a stall near the entrance, he “noted an employee with a mop at the far end of the restroom and made brief eye contact with the employee,” the lawsuit alleged.

The floor in the restroom and the area near the stall where Lee entered was dry and clean, according to the lawsuit.

“As [Lee] stepped out of the stall, he fell due to the unsafe and wet condition of the floor caused by the employee without notice or warning, thereby sustaining serious injury,” the lawsuit claimed.

Baumann said Lee, who was 55 at the time of the incident, suffered bruising on his face, chin and knees and he ended up in the emergency room, where he was kept overnight because his doctors detected a brain bleed. She said the brain bleed issue was able to resolve without the need for surgery.

A few days after the incident, Lee’s gait was unstable, she said.

Representatives with Cinemark Theaters did not immediately respond to messages about the lawsuit on Monday.

The lawsuit alleged the defendants in the case had failed to provide a safe walking surface for customers, failed to warn customers of the unsafe condition of the wet floor within its premises and failed to property train employees on mopping and warning procedures.