Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

Despite the defendants' claims that the plaintiff had not been seriously injured in a Cook County car accident, the Illinois jury awarded him $97,433 in Kenneth Linkevich v. Jose A. Alarcon and Yemi O. Oyewole, 09 L-635. The Illinois personal injury claim was filed by the plaintiff driver, who was injured when his car was struck by the defendants' two vehicles after they collided at an intersection.

In 2007, plaintiff Linkevich was stopped at a red light at an Illinois intersection, facing east on Apple Valley Drive in Bartlett, Illinois. While Linkevich was waiting for his light to turn green, Jose Alarcon began making a left-hand turn from northbound Route 59. However, in the process of turning, Alarcon crashed into a southbound car being driven by Yemi Oyewole. Alarcon and Oyewole's vehicles not only crashed into each other, but then spun and crashed into Linkevich's stopped vehicle.

Plaintiff Linkevich was 39 years-old at the time of the Illinois car crash and was employed as a truck driver. As a result of the car accident, Linkevich sustained an acrominal impingement injury, a disc herniation in his lower back, and developed arthritis in his right shoulder. Linkevich was unable to return to work for at least two weeks following the car accident.

Continue reading "Cook County Intersection Accident Receives $97,433 Verdict for Injured Driver - Linkevich v. Alarcon, et al." »

In the Illinois auto accident lawsuit of Corinne Thompson v. Christie Gordon, et al., No. 110066 (IL Sup. Ct.), the Illinois Supreme Court held that an engineer does not have to be professionally licensed in Illinois in order to qualify as an "expert" witness in an Illinois civil lawsuit. The Supreme Court's decision affirmed the decision made by the appellate court; however, it reversed the circuit court's ruling that the civil engineer hired by the plaintiff needed to be licensed in the state of Illinois in order to testify as an expert witness in the pending civil suit.

In Illinois, qualifications for various types of trial witnesses are established under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 213. A civil engineer, such as the one in Thompson, who is hired to testify as to the standard of care within his or her professional field, would be handled under Rule 213(f)(3). This section deals with "controlled expert witnesses," i.e., the party's retained expert, and requires the party to provide the expert's qualifications to provide opinions on the specialized subject matter.

In Thompson, it was these qualifications that were up for debate. While the plaintiff held that its civil engineer was qualified to testify based on his experience and education, the defendants held that without being professionally licensed in Illinois he could not provide opinions as to the standard of care required of the defendants' engineers and contractors. The defendants brought a motion to strike the civil engineer's testimony as to the design defects of a highway intersection, which was granted by the circuit court. Plaintiffs appealed this decision; without the civil engineer's expert testimony it would be almost impossible for the plaintiff to prove her claims against the defendants.

Continue reading "Illinois Engineering Expert Qualifications Clarified by Illinois Supreme Court in Thompson v. Gordon, et al." »

William Carr filed a lawsuit against Gateway, Inc. accusing the computer company of consumer fraud after it misrepresented the speed of its computer processors to Carr and other consumers. Gateway, Inc. sought to have the case heard before an arbitrator rather than a judge and jury, citing an arbitration clause was found in the sales agreement that was mailed with the computer Mr. Carr purchased from Gateway in 2001. However, the Illinois Supreme Court struck down an arbitration clause found in a contract between William Carr and Gateway, Inc. in Carr v. Gateway, Inc., Illinois Supreme Court, Docket No. 109485.

Carr's complaint alleged that Gateway had mislead consumers when it marketed its computers outfitted with Pentium 4 processors as being faster than the older Pentium III processors. Furthermore, Carr alleged that the Pentium 4 processor was actually slower than the Pentium III and Athlon processors from Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD).

The Illinois Supreme Court lawsuit did not consider the claims of consumer fraud against Gateway, Inc., but rather dealt with the issue of arbitration proceedings. In Illinois, some contracts between parties include arbitration agreements, which essentially stipulate that if the party signing the contract has a legal claim against the party providing the services that the claim will be decided by an arbitrator rather than a jury.

Continue reading "Illinois Supreme Court Strikes Down Arbitration Clause; Carr v. Gateway, Inc." »

A Cook County jury returned a verdict of over $1.5 million in Joseph Walters v. Belt Railway Company of Chicago, Chicago Northern Railroad Co., Gunderson Rail Services n/k/a Greenbrier Rail Services, 06 L-7349, an Illinois personal injury lawsuit for a railroad employee who was injured on the job. Since the railroad had already admitted liability for the train accident prior to trial, the Illinois verdict involved issues of damages only, e.g., loss of normal life, past and future pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost income.

Joseph Walters was a railroad freight conductor working at a clearing yard owned by Belt Railway Company of Chicago in Bedford Park, Illinois. Mr. Walters fell from a train car after a grab-iron handhold that he was holding detached from the car. Grab-irons are the handles on the outside of trains that railroad employees use to hold onto the cars. As a result of his train accident, the railroad worker sustained a herniated disc at his L4-L5 spine and a rotator cuff tear.

The 41 year-old underwent multiple surgeries, including a spinal fusion and rotator cuff repair surgery, but was still left with permanent disabilities. In addition, Mr. Walters's prolonged pain led to the long-term use of various narcotic pain medications, which he claimed led to chronic constipation, hemorrhoids, and hernia repair surgery.

Continue reading "Cook County $1.5 Million Verdict for Injuries Suffered When Railcar Grab-Bar Breaks Off; Walters v. Belt Railway Company of Chicago" »

A Cook County verdict was handed down on an Illinois personal injury and wrongful death claim involving a father and son who were both injured in the same Illinois construction site accident. The Illinois wrongful death claim was filed on behalf of the father, Herman Calloway, Sr., who was killed instantly at the construction site, ; Estate of Herman Calloway, Sr. v. Bovis Lend Lease, Inc., No. 05 L 8589, while the straight personal injury claim was filed on behalf of the son, Herman Calloway, Jr., who suffered permanent disabling injuries as a result of the construction site injury, Herman Calloway, Jr. v. Bovis Lend Lease, Inc., No. 06 L 2005. The jury found in favor of both plaintiffs for a total of $8.5 million in damages for both claims.

The Illinois construction site accident occurred in 2005, when both Calloway, Sr. and Calloway, Jr. were attempting to locate an electrical line at a construction site at Warrenville South High School. At the time, the Calloways were working in a trench that had been dug in order to allow them to locate the electrical line. Typically, when construction workers dig a trench they use a trench box to support it. A trench box is a metal box that construction workers use to prevent workers from trench cave-ins. Without the trench box there is no support to the walls of the trench and nothing to prevent the trench from caving in.

However, the area where the Calloways were working contained pre-existing manholes, the location of which prevented the construction workers from using the trench boxes. The construction workers did make an attempt to use the trench box, but had to remove it after discovering that the box would not fit. Instead of stopping the job while they worked to find an alternate solution, the job superintendant informed the crew that they still needed to locate the electrical line in that area.

Continue reading "Cook County Construction Site Accident Leads to $8.5 Million Verdict for Two Injured Construction Workers - Calloway Jr. and Calloway Sr. v. Bovis Lend Lease, Inc." »

The Illinois Court of Claims awarded $8 million to the surviving family of two sisters who died after an Illinois state trooper crashed his patrol car into the teens' car in November 2007. Former-State Trooper Mitchell was found guilty of reckless driving and to have breached his duty of exercising reasonable care while on the job, a breach which the court held was the cause of the two teens' deaths. Kimberly Dorsey, as Executer of the Estates of Jessica Uhl and Kimberly Uhl v. State of Illinois, 08-CC-2945.

At the time of the Illinois auto crash, Trooper Matt Mitchell was talking on his cell phone to his girlfriend and emailing another trooper for directions, all while driving 126 mph on his way to another accident. At the time of the Illinois car crash, 18 year-old Jessica Uhl and 13 year-old Kimberly Uhl were driving in the opposite direction along Interstate 64 near Illinois Route 158. Mitchell lost control of his vehicle, which then jumped the median and crashed into the Uhl's car. Both girls perished in the fiery crash.

Mitchell testified that another vehicle had cut him off before he lost control, which was the real cause of the Illinois car crash. However, there were no other witnesses to collaborate his testimony and the Illinois Court of Claims was reluctant to believe his testimony after Mitchell affirmed that he had lied under oath just three days earlier during the criminal trial that resulted from the Illinois highway accident.

Continue reading "Illinois Highway Accident Involving Cell Phone Use Results in $8 Million to Two Teens' Surviving Family Members - Illinois State Trooper Held Responsible in Uhl v. State of Illinois" »

An Illinois product defect lawsuit recently received a $2 million jury verdict award for her severely injured right hand in Rita Thakore v. Universal Machine Co. of Pottstown, Inc. d/b/a Universal Machine & Engineering Corp., 05 C-5262. The Illinois product liability lawsuit involved allegations of a defective design of an automated packing line machine manufactured by the defendant, Universal Machine Co. of Pottstown, Inc.

The Illinois product liability lawsuit sprung from a work place injury that the plaintiff, Rita Thakore, experienced while employed as a production technician at Ciba Vision’s contact lens factory in Des Plaines, Illinois. The 47 year-old technician was wiping melted plastic residue off of the upper plate of the heat seal press of the packing line machine. Ms. Thakore was responsible for handling the heat seal press, which was designed to seal foil lids onto plastic containers.

The machine was stopped at the time, but the 200 lb. plate suddenly dropped from the machine and landed on top of her right hand. Her hand became trapped under the 450 degrees Fahrenheit plate for several minutes, until the high temperatures burned through her heat-resistant glove.

Continue reading "Illinois Product Defect Case Returns $2 Million Verdict for Factory Worker - Thakore v. Universal Machine Co. of Pottstown, Inc." »

An Illinois woman claimed that the Illinois auto accident she was involved in was the result of a product defect. The Illinois product liability lawsuit alleged that a defective bike rack on another motorist's vehicle caused the plaintiff's car and truck accident. Prior to trial, the bike manufacturer settled with the plaintiff for $1.5 Million in Starr Frohlich v. Yakima Products, Inc., et al., 09L-103.

In 2007, the plaintiff, Starr Frohlich, was driving southbound on Interstate-94 near Libertyville, Illinois. Motorist William Gordon was traveling slightly ahead of Ms. Frohlich and had his bicycle hitched to his vehicle by way of a bike rack manufactured by Yakima Products, Inc. Without any warning, the bicycle came loose from the bike rack and flew into the path of Ms. Frohlich.

In order to avoid colliding with the bouncing bicycle, Ms. Frohlich abruptly moved her car to the road's left shoulder. Once the danger had passed, Ms. Frohlich moved her car back onto the highway and into the center lane. However, at that point she was struck from behind by a truck. So by avoiding a collision with the unmanned bicycle, Ms. Frohlich instead became involved in an Illinois auto accident.

Continue reading "Illinois Auto and Truck Accident Caused By Bike Rack Defect Settled for $1.5 Million - Starr Frohlich v. Yakima Products" »