Articles Posted in Intersection Crash

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Joshua Hernandez, 17 and a student, was a passenger in his friend’s car when a tractor-trailer driven by Nathan Harris for Phenix Transportation West Inc. crashed into the Hernandez vehicle in an intersection. Hernandez suffered brain injuries in the crash and now requires full-time care. His medical expenses were approximately $780,000.

Hernandez sued Phenix Transportation West, Inc. Phenix Transportation Inc., and Harris, alleging that Harris chose not to yield or obey a red light. Hernandez offered to settle for insurance policy limits, but the defendants declined. After presenting the case to the jury, they signed a verdict for $52.9 million.

The attorneys successfully handling this tragic case for Hernandez were William D. Shapiro and Brian D. Shapiro.

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Patricia Carr, 61, was driving on a two-lane highway when Jenny Jung Ah Yim’s vehicle turned left from a driveway and crashed into Carr’s vehicle. The collision caused Carr to suffer a burst fracture at L2, which required surgery. Carr, a teacher, was earning approximately $70,000 per year. She was unable to return to work due to problems with walking and stability.

Carr sued Yim, alleging Yim was negligent in choosing not to yield the right-of-way.

The jury signed a verdict for more than $6.2 million. With prejudgment interest, the amount of the verdict became over $7.2 million. A motion for attorney’s fees is reported to be pending.

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Jaime Monroy Jr. and Jonathan Campos were traveling in a car through an intersection when the vehicle driven by Stacey Suchio Poon allegedly turned left in front of Monroy and Campos. Monroy, the driver, could not stop in time and the vehicles collided.

Monroy suffered cervical and lumbar sprains and a torn left meniscus. He may require spinal surgery at L4-5. His medical expenses were more than $18,700.

Campos lost consciousness as a result of the crash and was later diagnosed with lumbar radiculopathy and a torn meniscus, which required injection and arthroscopic surgery. Campos’s medical expenses were approximately $152,800.

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Parag Mathur, 51, was stopped for a red light at an intersection.  A truck that was traveling in the same direction rear-ended an SUV two cars behind Mathur’s vehicle. That caused the SUV to leave the roadway and caused the truck to crash into the car directly behind Mathur’s car.  That car, in turn, plowed into Mathur’s car.

Mathur suffered herniated disks at C5-6, C7-T1, T11-12, and L5-S1, as well as bulging disks in his cervical spine.

In addition, he suffered a torn right medial meniscus and shoulder injuries. He required physical therapy and spinal surgeries.  He continues to experience back pain and diminished range of motion.

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Doe, age 7, was riding in a van operated by his classmate’s mother. As the van entered an intersection that was controlled by a traffic light, Roe, an employee of a contracting company, collided with the van, which caused it to strike a telephone pole.

Both Doe and his classmates were ejected and landed on the roadway. Doe suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Doe’s family sued the contracting company and his classmate’s mother alleging liability for the crash. The Doe family claimed that Roe’s choosing not to stop at a red light caused the crash.

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John Pesci, 60, was driving his motorcycle through an intersection when he was struck by a vehicle driven by Jacklynn Barke. She had run a red light. It was a T-bone collision. He suffered a fractured right leg, as well as a fractured skull, jaw, and nose. He underwent 13 surgeries before he was able to walk again and required a wheelchair for two years after this incident.

Pesci sued Patrick Mahoney, who owned the vehicle that Barke was driving. Pesci alleged that Mahoney negligently allowed Barke to use his vehicle while she was under the influence of drugs. Pesci also claimed that Mahoney was vicariously liable for Barke running the red light, maintaining proper control of her vehicle, and choosing not to yield the right-of-way. Pesci did not claim lost income or medical expenses.

The jury signed a verdict for $8.9 million.

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Cindy Tran Huynh was just 22 years old when her death occurred. She was driving her motorcycle through an intersection on a green light when George Hooks, who was operating a tractor-trailer owned by MDV SpartanNash, LLC, turned left across Huynh’s path.

Huynh suffered a fatal blunt force trauma. She had been a veteran and student and is survived by her parents.

Huynh’s mother, individually and on behalf of her estate, sued MDV SpartanNash, alleging that Hooks had chosen not to keep a proper lookout and to yield the right-of-way.

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Jonathan Cunningham, a foreman for Troy Construction, was operating a pickup truck on his way to a job site. He drove through a red light and into an intersection at 36 mph striking the pickup truck driven by Jose Lara Sanchez. The crash caused Sanchez’s truck to strike a light pole, ejecting him from his vehicle.

As a result, in addition to fractures, Sanchez suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhage that necessitated an emergency craniotomy. Sanchez also required an endovascular repair of a traumatic transection of his descending thoracic aorta.

After a three-week hospitalization, he was transferred to a skilled nursing facility for five months of aggressive rehabilitation. As a painter, Sanchez was unable to return to his job at which he earned approximately $28,000 per year. His medical expenses totaled $1.3 million.

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On Oct. 25, 2013, Joseph Wasielewski and Anthony Stazak were in a car that was eastbound on Interstate 80 near Harlem Avenue in Tinley Park, Ill. It was then that the defendant, Cindy Guttman, 18, drove a car that rear-ended their vehicle.

Wasielewski claimed a cervical strain, lumbar strain and aggravation of spondylosis at L3-4.  According to the report of this case, his medical expenses were $39,736.

Stazak claimed that the rear-end collision caused aggravation of his prior L4-S1 fusion requiring revision surgery and lumbar radiculopathy. At trial, it was shown that Stazak’s past medical expenses were $15,461 with future medical expenses expected to reach $125,000.

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Noemi Mendez, 15, was walking home from school with her older brother Elias.  As they were crossing the street in the crosswalk, the driver of a tractor-trailer truck began turning right into that intersection. The truck hit Noemi and the trailer’s rear wheels rolled over her. She died at the scene. Noemi is survived by her brother Elias, an older sister and her parents. In addition to the death of Noemi, her brother Elias, who was 18 at the time, suffered severe emotional distress due to witnessing his sister’s fatal injury.

Noemi’s family sued the truck driver and the trucking company, alleging that the driver was negligent and chose not to yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. The Mendez family asserted that Noemi and Elias entered the intersection on a green light with a pedestrian “walk” signal and that they were already well into the intersection when the truck struck Noemi.

The parties had stipulated that the truck driver was in the scope and course of his employment. The parties presented a surveillance video recorded by a corner convenience store that captured some of the events at a distance. Although the video was of poor quality, the Mendez family maintained that it showed that Noemi and her brother were at the intersection at least 30 seconds before the truck arrived in the intersection.

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