Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

The Illinois Appellate Court has affirmed a ruling by a Cook County associate judge who denied a forum non conveniens challenge brought by Motorola in Joseph Erwin, Jr., et al. v. Motorola, Inc., No. 1-09-2847. The Illinois birth injury lawsuit involved allegations that the plaintiffs' children suffered birth defects as a result of their parents' exposure to hazardous chemicals in the course of their employment in Motorola’s semiconductor industry “clean rooms”.

Motorola's motion involved a request of a change of venue, citing forum non conveniens rules to support its motion in the birth defect lawsuit. Forum non conveniens is Latin for "inconvenient forum" and are applicable when a lawsuit is filed in a location that is inconvenient for parties or witnesses. Under this principle, a judge is allowed to change a case's venue if a party can make a substantial case for its inconvenience.

Erwin was filed in a Circuit Court of Cook County court on the basis that Motorola's headquarters are in Schaumburg, Illinois. However, Motorola argued that a more appropriate venue was Travis County, Texas, on the basis that much of the plaintiffs' exposure to the hazardous chemicals took place in that county. It submitted a motion to dismiss the birth injury lawsuit on the basis of forum non conveniens, which the circuit court judge denied. Motorola then appealed this decision to the Illinois Appellate Court.

Continue reading "Forum Non Conveniens Motion Denied in Illinois Birth Defect Case - Erwin v. Motorola, Inc." »

While Illinois is amending its motor vehicle laws to offer more protection to bicyclists, an advocacy group is petitioning for additional safety measures. The Active Transportation Alliance (ATA), an organization whose mission is to make Chicago streets safer for bicyclists, motorists, and pedestrians, is campaigning to increase the public's awareness regarding the dangers of bicyclist and car door collisions.

A bicycle-car door collision occurs when a driver opens his or her car door without first checking whether any bicyclists are coming; the bicyclist typically does not have enough warning to avoid the car door and ends up crashing into it. According to the ATA, car door accidents are the most common manner in which Chicago cyclists are injured; however, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) does not maintain records on the number of bicycle-car door accidents in Illinois.

Illinois averaged over 3,500 crashes between bicyclists and motor vehicles each year from 2005 to 2009. According to IDOT, 18 to 27 of those crashes result in cyclist's deaths and over 3,300 injuries every year. However, IDOT does not currently track the number of bicycle accidents in which a motor vehicle’s door is thrown open in the path of a moving bicycle. Without official records documenting the degree of the problem it is difficult for advocacy groups like ATA to raise motorist awareness and effect change in driver habits. In addition, a spokesperson for ATA stated that excluding dooring accidents from Illinois crash reports could decrease Illinois's vehicle-bike accident report statistics by 15 percent.

Continue reading "Illinois BIcycle Accidents - The Dangers of "Dooring"" »

A $2.5 million settlement was reached in the Illinois wrongful death case of Estate of Shelty J. Jones v. Stimson Lumber Co., et al., No. 06 L 1611. The claim against was filed on behalf of a Home Depot employee who was injured at work in 2004 and then died five years later from a prescription drug overdose. The medication, Fentanyl, had been prescribed for pain associated with the worker's 2004 injuries.

In May 2004, Jones was working at a Home Depot warehouse as a forklift operator. As he was attempting to load a thousand pounds of stacked lumber into a train boxcar, the lumber fell onto Jones. As a result, Jones suffered a severe pelvic injury, which required five surgeries.

During the course of Jones's treatment and recovery he was prescribed Fentanyl to relieve his back pain. Fentanyl is an opiate analgesic that is typically prescribed to treat severe pain, but can sometimes be prescribed to treat chronic pain. Fentanyl is similar to morphine, but is more powerful.

Continue reading "Home Depot Worker Injury Leads to $2.5 Million Settlement; Jones v. Stimson Lumber Co." »

A Cook County jury entered a $246,000 verdict against the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) for an injury a computer sustained after getting caught in a turnstile in the Illinois personal injury claim of Tekuru Kpea v. Chicago Transit Authority, 08 L 5324. The plaintiff, Tekuru Kpea, sustained severe injuries to his leg and part of the damages went towards his future medical care and surgeries.

In 2004, Kpea was passing through a fare-card turnstile at the CTA's Green Line Kedzie Station when his left leg became caught in the turnstile. In addition, this caused Kpea to fall forward, twisting his left leg while his knee remained stuck in the turnstile. As a result of his personal injury, Kpea sustained a left leg fracture, specifically to his left tibial plateau.

Kpea's personal injury was so severe that he required an open reduction internal fixation surgery of his left tibial plateau, which involves fixing the bones in place with metal rods and screws. While these metal implements aid the bone in healing properly, they increase the risk for infection because there are now foreign bodies in one's leg. Unfortunately, this is what happened in Kpea's case - he developed a post-operative infection which required several corrective surgeries.

Continue reading "CTA Rider's Fractured Leg Brings $246,000 Cook County Verdict - Kpea v. Chicago Transit Authority" »

In August 2010, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) posted a letter it sent to a medical device manufacturer regarding the safety of its metal hip implants. The letter informed the medical device manufacturer that the FDA had become aware that it had not obtained marketing approval before releasing its metal-on-metal hip implant device for sale and that the company should stop marketing this device immediately.

The medical device manufacturer, DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc., had not received FDA approval for its TruMatch™ Personalized Solutions System prior to releasing it for sale. Therefore, the FDA was warning the medical device manufacturer that it needed to cease production of this product while it went through the proper channels of obtaining the FDA's approval.

In addition, while DePuy had been cleared by the FDA to market its Corail® Hip System, which was intended to be used for a total hip arthroplasty. However, DePuy had made several changes to its Corail Hip System that were not approved or tested by the FDA and therefore could not legally be marketed or used.

Continue reading "Overview of Illinois DePuy ASR Hip Replacement System Recall and Lawsuits" »

The Illinois personal injury lawsuit of Karyn Hilborn v. Alan Susdorf and Merchants Solutions, Inc., 07 L 1058, received a $130,000 verdict against the defendant car driver and his employer. The car accident occurred at a Glendale Heights intersection and involved both the defendant driver's vehicle and the plaintiff's bicycle.

At the time of the Illinois car accident, 62 year-old Karyn Hilborn was riding her bicycle on a sidewalk along Bloomingdale Road in Glendale Heights. Meanwhile the defendant driver, Alan Susdorf, was approaching a stop sign at the intersection of Bloomingdale Road and Drummond Avenue. However, Susdorf failed to stop his vehicle behind the indicated line and instead rolled his vehicle forward into the crosswalk, striking Hilborn and her bicycle.

Hilborn was unable to avoid Susdorf's vehicle and ended up striking the passenger side of his car. As a result of the crosswalk collision, Hilborn fractured her left tibia plateau and tore her left medial collateral ligament. Hilborn's case was complicated by a prior history of arthritis in her left knee and doctors have said she will require a knee replacement in the future as a result of her recent intersection accident.

Continue reading "Illinois Crosswalk Collision Between Bicyclist and Car Results in $130,000 Verdict - Hilborn v. Merchants Solutions, Inc." »

A Cook County trucking accident recently resulted in a $675,000 verdict for the plaintiff, who suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of the 2005 rear-end collision. The Illinois personal injury case was brought against both the defendant driver and his employer; Heather Davis v. Keith M. Longsine, Schneider National Carriers Inc., 07 L 3098.

The Illinois highway accident occurred in March 2005, during Illinois's road construction season. The plaintiff, Heather Davis, had come to a complete stop due to the road construction on Illinois Interstate 94 near Thornton, Illinois. However, the truck driven by defendant, Keith Longsine, did not stop and ended up crashing into Davis's vehicle. At the time of the accident, Longsine was driving a truck owned by his employer, Schneider National Carriers, Inc.

At the Illinois personal injury trial, the plaintiff hired a mechanical engineer to offer opinions as to how fast the defendant was driving at the time of the rear-end crash. The severity of the impact caused Davis's car to be pushed five feet forward into the rear of a pickup truck stopped in front of her. In addition, Davis's airbags deployed and her headrest broke off of her driver's seat. The plaintiff's engineering expert, Michael Rogers, used this information to opine that the defendant was driving in excess of 33 mph when the trucking accident occurred.

Continue reading "Cook County Rear-End Collision Results in $675,000 for Traumatic Brain Injury- Davis v. Schneider National Carriers, Inc." »

An Illinois judge approved a $5 million settlement in a trucking accident lawsuit brought by the estate of an Illinois civil attorney who was killed in a two-vehicle accident near Streator, Illinois. The settlement in Estate of Richard J. Berry v. OSF Healthcare System Corp., et al., No. 10 L 14, represents one of the largest personal injury settlements in LaSalle County, Illinois.

The decedent, Richard Berry, was a partner in his own firm and had been practicing law in Illinois since the mid-1970s. Mr. Berry was widely respected in the legal community and was known to be a very capable trial lawyer. The Illinois wrongful death lawsuit was brought by his wife and three adult children, all of which will receive a portion of the Illinois settlement.

The Illinois wrongful death lawsuit was brought against OSF Healthcare System Corp., a Peoria-based company; its subsidiary, OSF Saint Francis, Inc.; and David DeFrance, the other driver involved in the two-vehicle accident which led to Berry's death. All parties involved contributed to the $5 million settlement to Mr. Berry's surviving family members.

Continue reading "$5 Million Settlement Approved in Illinois Truck Crash - Berry v. OSF Healthcare System" »

A Cook County jury has entered its verdict for a Chicago ironworker who tripped over demolition debris at a construction site. The plaintiff, 52 year-old Robert Petrouski, was performing ironwork on a bridge that was being demolished by the defendant, Bradenburg Industrial Service Co. when he was injured. The jury found in favor of the plaintiff and entered a verdict of $436,000 against the defendant in Robert Petrouski v. Brandenburg Industrial Service Co., 06 L-10628.

On October 11, 2004, Mr. Petrouski, a journeyman ironworker, was working below the bridge deck that the Brandenburg employees were demolishing. Mr. Petrouski was carrying equipment to perform his construction job when he tripped over a piece of demolition debris. As a result of his Chicago construction site injury, Petrouski suffered a lumbar disc herniation and a fragmentation of his disc.

While Petrouski contended that the debris he tripped on was left in his work area by Brandenburg's demolition crew, the demolition company denied that it was performing work above that area. Furthermore, Brandenburg went on to allege that the debris which caused Petrouski's fall was in fact left in the area by another company.

Continue reading "Chicago Iron Worker Injured – Construction Site Injury Receives $436,000 Verdict - Petrouski v. Brandenburg Industrial Service Co." »

On Valentine’s Day, 2007, Noni Brown, an eighth grade honor roll student at Betty Shabazz International Charter School was playing with her teacher and classmates at Grand Crossing Park. However, short time after the class arrived at the park, a 20 foot light pole fell on top of Noni, pinning her to the ground. The light pole was owned by the City of Chicago, who was then the defendant in the Illinois personal injury lawsuit brought as a result of Noni's injuries; Noni Brown, a minor v. City of Chicago, 07 L 5062.

The 13 year-old Noni was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where she was diagnosed with an epidural hematoma, post-ligament disruption at T4-T6, and spinal fractures at C-2, T-5, and T-6. While she did not require surgery to repair her spinal injuries, Noni was at U of C Medical Center for ten days.

At the Chicago personal injury trial, the plaintiff's attorneys accused the City of Chicago of not taking reasonable efforts to maintain its light pole for several years. The plaintiff contended that the steel light pole had fallen on Noni with no provocation on her part, or by any of her classmates.

Continue reading "Chicago Student Awarded $571,000 From the City of Chicago After Light Pole Injury - Brown v. City of Chicago" »

The United States Supreme Court has ruled that a family is allowed to pursue its lawsuit in California against Mazda Motors of American, Inc. in the case of The Estate of Thanh Williamson v. Mazda, 08-1314. The product liability lawsuit deals with claims that the auto company's 1993 Mazda MPV minivan were unsafe because the middle seat of the vehicle's second row was only equipped with lap seat belts.

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed after Thanh Williamson, a Utah mother, died in a 2002 auto crash. Mrs. Williamson was seatbelted into the back middle seat of the family's Mazda minivan at the time of the car crash. According to eyewitnesses of the car accident, the impact of the car crash caused Mrs. Williamsons’s body to jackknife around the lap seat belt, which resulted in her fatal internal injuries.

Again, central to the estate's product liability claim was that the seatbelt the late Mrs. Williamson was using was not equipped with a harness or shoulder belt. However, this option is not required by federal regulations. While federal law does require that a vehicle's front and rear outer seats come equipped with both lap and shoulder belts, car manufacturers may decide whether or not to also provide this option in their middle or aisle seats.

Continue reading "Mazda Seat Belt Case to go to Trial After Woman Dies - Williamson v. Mazda" »

A Cook County, Illinois jury returned a $6.3 million verdict in an Illinois wrongful death case where a 57 year –old electrician died after he was electrocuted and burned in an electrical explosion while working at the Chicago Transit Authority Brown Line substation in 2006.

Charles Ingolia was working under the defendant Target Electric which was serving as the subcontractor overseeing the electrical phase of the project involving the addition of a new rectifier system to power the CTA Brown Line trains and the renovation of the substation near 3360 N. Clark St., Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Ingolia survived two days after the explosion and then passed away.

At the trial in Estate of Charles R. Ingolia v. CTA, et al., 06 L 013106, the family’s lawyers argued that the subcontractor overseeing the electrical phase of the project were responsible for Mr. Ingolia’s injuries and wrongful death. It was also contended that Mr. Ingolia was inadequately instructed on how to clean the new electrical system because it was “going to” be energized. The estate alleged that Target Electric sent the electrician into a 12,600 volt switchgear cabinet without informing him that a portion of the electrical equipment had been energized.

Continue reading "Cook County Construction Accident Verdict Awards $6.3 Million Against Subcontractor for Death of Electrician in Estate of Ingolia v. CTA, et al." »