Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blawg

December 12, 2011

5M Verdict for Company for Conspiracy and Fraud Against Ex-Employee – Catmet Company v. Melnick

There is a certain level of trust that exists between an employer and employee based on the assumption that all parties will work in the company’s best interest. However, sometimes certain parties put their own interests first, even going to the extent of committing fraud against their company. The Illinois business fraud lawsuit of Catmet Company, Inc. v. Michael Melnick, 4M Trading, LLC, et al., 05 L 9164, involves three separate counts of fraud committed by a former employee.

The business fraud cases were brought by Catmet Company, Inc., a company involved in processing catalytic converters. Catmet’s business model involves purchasing catalytic converters from scrap yards and other supplies. Catmet then removes valuable metals from the used catalytic converters, e.g. platinum, palladium, and rhodium, which it then sells to other end-users.

Catmet alleged that between 2003 and 2005 one of its former employees, Michael Melnick, had worked in conjunction with other outside parties to defraud Catmet. Catmet’s lawsuit involved not one, but three different schemes in which Melnick had swindled its employer out of business profits. And while the jury considered each of the schemes separately, it returned verdicts in favor of Catmet on all three counts.

December 9, 2011

25th Anniversary Year of Receiving Highest Legal Honor for Robert D. Kreisman – Martindale-Hubbell’s AV Rating

by Robert Kreisman

The AV premium rating is the pinnacle of excellence earned through strenuous peer-review ratings according to Martindale-Hubbell, legal resource provider. Chicago attorney Robert D. Kreisman of Kreisman Law Offices has been bestowed with this honor after 25 consecutive years of receiving the highest rating from the organization.

In 1987, after the peer review of other professionals and attorneys rated Robert D. Kreisman at the highest level of achievement, he received the AV rating from Martindale-Hubbell. He has maintained that level throughout his years of practice.

Robert D. Kreisman of Kreisman Law Offices has been handling client matters in medical malpractice, product defect matters, and commercial matters for individuals, families and businesses for more than 35 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and surrounding areas, including Zion, Winfield, River Forest, Peoria, Elk Grove Village, and Mundelein, Illinois.

December 7, 2011

168,000 Volkswagen and Audi Diesel Vehicles Recalled for Fuel Leaks

by Robert Kreisman

Back in November Volkswagen began notifying its customers that it would be voluntarily recalling numerous of its diesel models for faulty fuel injectors. The car manufacturer estimates that this recall could affect more than 168,000 vehicles. While Volkswagen’s website has more information on the specific models the Volkswagen recall effects, they include:

• Volkswagen Golf models manufactured between 2010 and 2011,
• Volkswagen Jetta models manufactured between 2009 and 2012, and
• some Audi 3 models manufactured between 2010 and 2012.

Of the above models, only those vehicles containing the 2.0L TDI® Clean Diesel engine are included in the recall. According to Volkswagen, there is a possibility that certain vibrations will cause a fuel line crack in the engine, which could then cause a fuel leak. While the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) warns that fuel leaks could lead to car fires, Volkswagen stated that it is not aware of any accidents or injuries caused by fuel line cracks in its diesel engines.

December 5, 2011

Copyright Found Not Protectable in Holiday Inn Express Design Case – Nova Design Build v. Grace Hotels

by Robert Kreisman

An Illinois Appellate Court upheld a trial court’s ruling that a hotel chain did not infringe on a design firm’s design copyright when building its hotel; Nova Design Build, Inc. v. Grace Hotels, LLC, et al., No. 10-1738. However, while the trial court came to this conclusion based on its assessment that the design firm failed to comply with the copyright requirements, the appellate court concluded that the design was not truly original and thus not protectable under copyright laws.

In order to understand the outcome of the copyright lawsuit, some background information is required. In 2006, Nova Design Build submitted architectural plans to Grace Hotels to try and secure a bid to build a new Holiday Inn Express in Waukegan, Illinois. During the negotiation process, Grace Hotels and Nova Design agreed that even if Grace did not contract Nova Design to build the hotel, that it would pay Nova various fees and costs in order to use its design.

Grace Hotels eventually decided not to contract Nova and its builders to construct the new hotel. And while the contract called for Grace to pay $28,000 to Nova for design fees and the right to use the design, both parties agreed to reduce that amount to $18,000. However, the dispute did not end there. Nova went on to register its design with the US Copyright Office and then proceeded to sue Grace for violating that copyright and using Nova’s design without permission.

November 30, 2011

Illinois Appellate Court Upholds 23.8M in SUV Crash with Illinois Department of Transportation Truck – Chraca v. Miles

by Robert Kreisman

An Illinois truck accident case was reviewed by the Illinois Appellate Court to determine whether or not the trial court had erred in its delivery of jury instructions and whether the jury had awarded too much damages. However, after reviewing the case facts, the appellate court upheld the trial court proceedings and eventual verdict in Andrzej Chraca v. Steven Miles, 2011 Ill.App. (1st) 100537-U.

The Chraca lawsuit involved a 2004 car crash between Andrzej Chraca and Steven Miles. Chraca was driving an SUV at the time, while Miles was driving an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) truck. Both Chraca and Miles suffered degrees of paralysis following the Schaumburg truck accident and both drivers filed personal injury lawsuits against each other.

The two cases were consolidated into one personal injury lawsuit by the Circuit Court of Cook County. At the end of the trial, the court ruled in favor of Chraca and against Miles. Chraca was awarded $23.8 million in damages, which was broken down as follows:

-$500,000 for disfigurement;
-$593,335 for past medical expenses;
-$3.5 million for future medical expenses;
-$2.5 million for past and future pain and suffering; and
-$18 million for past and future loss of a normal life.

And while both lawsuits were consolidated for the purposes of the Cook County personal injury trial, the appeal deals only with the lawsuit filed by Chraca.

November 28, 2011

Train Engineer Receives Jury Verdict for Injury to Shoulder While Applying Train Brake – Hatchett v. Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp.

by Robert Kreisman

A Chicago jury awarded a train engineer damages for an injury he sustained while operating a Metra train; Clarence Hatchett v. Metra, 09 L 5185. The award came after a Cook County injury trial in which the railroad attempted to prove the train engineer was at fault for his own injury, a theory that the jury seemed to agree with – it apportioned 70% of the train accident to the engineer.

The train injury took place in January 2009, while the plaintiff, Clarence Hatchett, was employed by Metra Rail. Hatchett was about to depart from Chicago’s Union Station on Metra’s Milwaukee District North Central Line when he did what many driver’s do before departing- he tried to adjust his engineer’s seat.

At the Cook County trial Hatchett explained that he determines his seat back position based on his ability to easily reach the automatic break. However, Hatchett was unable to reach his ideal seat position because the seat back was stuck in a forward position, leaving him roughly six inches further forward than he would have liked. However, Hatchett made no further attempts to adjust the stuck train seat and departed from Union Station.

As Hatchett’s train approached the line’s track crossovers located near Franklin Park, he needed to reach back to apply the automatic break. As he did so, Hatchett heard a loud pop and felt immediate pain in his left shoulder. A later diagnosis revealed that Hatchett had sustained from a torn tendon in his left rotator cuff, for which he would require a total shoulder replacement.

Despite the prior existence of Grade III and Grade IV shoulder injuries, Hatchett attributed the rotator cuff tear to the pop he heard while reaching for the automatic break. He brought a FELA lawsuit against his employer, Metra, for the medical bills related to the injury, his lost time from work, and general pain and suffering.

November 24, 2011

Photographs for Cross-Examination Are Excluded When Not Produced Prior to Trial – Scales v. Benne

by Robert Kreisman

The Illinois Appellate Court recently affirmed a trial court’s exclusion of photographs during a Cook County trial. The issue in Sylvester Scales v. Joseph Benne, No. 1-10-2253 (2011), was whether or not the photographs were barred from evidence because the plaintiff’s attorney had not produced them to opposing counsel prior to the start of the trial.

The personal injury lawsuit involved a pedestrian accident in which the parties were disputing whether the defendant’s car had struck the plaintiff, or whether the plaintiff had walked into the defendant’s car. At the time of the car accident, Joseph Benne’s car was in the left-turn lane at the intersection of North and Clybourn Avenues and Sylvester Scales was walking in the same area. At trial, Benne testified that he heard a “thud” on the side of his car; the assumption being that this noise represented the impact with Scales.

Benne also testified that the the turn-lane at the North and Clybourn intersection was long enough to accommodate six cars and that at the time of the car accident his vehicle was fourth or fifth in line. This testimony is significant because vehicles only owe pedestrians a duty if they are within the crosswalk. So if the defense can show that the pedestrian accident occurred four or five car lengths southeast of the crosswalk, then it can show that the defendant driver did not owe a duty to the pedestrian.

In order to refute this testimony, Scales’s attorneys intended to use two photographs of the intersection taken from GoogleMaps and MapQuest and a photograph depicting the make and model of Benne’s car taken from Autotrader.com. However, Benne’s attorney moved to have the photographs excluded on the grounds that Scales’s attorney had not produced them until that point. The judge granted the defendant’s request and the plaintiff was unable to use the three photographs. The Cook County jury went on to enter a verdict in favor of Benne; Scales’s attorney appealed this verdict based on argument that the outcome would have been different if the court had allowed the use of the three photographs at trial.

November 23, 2011

Jury Reaches 897,000 Verdict in Head-On Collision After Rear-End Impact From School Bus – Fuller v. Richmond Burton High School

by Robert Kreisman

A McHenry County jury returned the second highest personal injury verdict in the county’s history when it entered a $897,000 verdict in the case of David Fuller v. Richmond Burton High School, District 157, et al., 07 L 317 (McHenry County). The case involved a 2007 intersection accident that occurred between the plaintiff, David Fuller, and the defendant school bus driver, Rhonda Fiumetto.

The accident occurred at the intersection of Route 173 and Lakeview Road in Richmond Township. At the time of the bus accident, Fuller was attempting to make a left-hand turn onto Lakeview Road when Fiumetto’s bus drove into Fuller’s car. Fuller’s car had been stopped at the time of impact, but the bus was going in excess of 45 mph. The force of the impact caused Fuller’s car to be pushed into oncoming traffic, at which point he was hit head-on by a minivan.

While Fuller suffered some superficial face wounds and cuts, the main outcome of the intersection accident was a compression fracture of the L2 vertebrae in Fuller’s upper spine. Within twenty-four hours of the bus accident, Fuller underwent extensive surgery to try to repair his spinal fracture. Since that time, Fuller has undergone an additional two spinal fusion surgeries. In his personal injury complaint, Fuller contended that he is permanently disabled and has lost his prior employment as a sheet metal worker.

November 22, 2011

349,000 Jury Verdict for Injured Driver at T-Intersection – Valdez v. Claes

by Robert Kreisman

As the holiday season approaches, drivers need to be even more aware of their surroundings. This added caution is necessary not only because of worsening road conditions as winter weather sets in, but also because of increasing traffic and distracted drivers. Whether hurrying to the mall to partake in Black Friday deals, or to grandma’s to partake in some pumpkin pie, drivers can be preoccupied during the holiday season. Therefore, it is increasingly important to be on the lookout and drive cautiously during the holidays in order to avoid car accidents.

The personal injury case of Alan L. Valdez v. Kevin Claes and Ricky Heidner, No. 09 L 63023, demonstrates what can happen when one or both drivers is not paying attention. The 2007 car accident occurred at the T-intersection of Bonded Parkway and Brandy Parkway in Streamwood, Illinois. The plaintiff, Alan Valdez, was driving south on Bonded Parkway and was then heading left onto Brandy Parkway. At the same time, defendant Kevin Claes was driving westbound on Brandy Parkway when his vehicle struck the driver side door of Valdez’s car.

As a result of the car crash, Valdez suffered a strain across his cervical, thoracic, and lumbar spine areas. In addition, he sustained a bulging disc in his lower back, which ended up progressing to a herniated disc just two months after the intersection accident.

November 21, 2011

Jury Finds for Construction Company in Ironworker Injury at Loop High-Rise – Silva v. O’Sullivan Plumbing

by Robert Kreisman

A Chicago ironworker was unable to convince a Cook County jury that another construction worker was responsible for his construction site accident and injuries. Instead the jury decided in favor of the defendant construction company in Anthony Silva v. O’Sullivan Plumbing, Inc., 06 L 13525, and denied the plaintiff damages for his construction site injury.

Anthony Silva was an ironworker employed by Walsh Construction, a general contracting construction management company. At the time of his 2004 construction injury, Silva was working on the Shoreham Residential project located at 400 E. South Water St. in Chicago. Silva was performing work on a plumbing pipe that was located between two concrete walls that would be used to create the elevator core walls.

At trail, Silva testified that he had followed the required safety protocol by using a tie-wire to tie by the concrete form wall back in order to expose the pipe so that he could work behind the form walls. However, while he was working, the tied-back form wall fell and struck Silva on his back and wrist. He required surgeries for both his cervical disc injury and his wrist injuries.

Chicago Personal Injury Lawyer Blog