Dorma Lawson, age 59, was driving northbound on Western Avenue in Chicago Heights, Ill., when she stopped to make a left turn into a bank parking lot north of Lincoln Highway. Lawson’s car was then rear-ended by a Kickert school bus. Lawson claimed that she sustained soft tissue injuries to her neck, back and left knee. She had arthroscopic knee surgery, which showed that she did not have a torn meniscus.
Lawson is on disability due to a hip injury alleged to have been caused by this crash. The defendant bus driver, Patricia Savage, age 34, claimed that Lawson made a sudden stop and did not use her left turn signal. This, Savage said, was the cause of the crash.
The defendants also argued that the impact was very minor. Defendants maintained that Lawson was not injured to the extent that she claimed, and that her disability was unrelated to the crash.
Photographs of the vehicle driven by Lawson were barred by the judge at trial and thus, never considered by the jury.
The attorney for Lawson, Jared Duggan, reported that the last demand before trial was $100,000 and the defendants’ last offer was $5,000-10,000 at trial. However, the defendants’ lawyer reported that the plaintiff’s last demand was $215,000 and the last offer was $30,000.
The jury’s verdict of $117,000 was made up of the following damages:
- $35,000 for medical expenses;
- $10,000 for lost income;
- $72,000 for pain and suffering; and
- $0 for disability.
Dorma Lawson v. Patricia Savage and Kickert Bus Lines, Inc., 11 L 2823 (Cook County).
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling automobile accidents, truck crashes and car accidents for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 37 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Chicago (Canaryville), Chicago (Andersonville) Chicago (Chinatown), Chicago (Edgebrook), Chicago (East Garfield Park), Joliet, Hinsdale, Fox River Grove, Evergreen Park, Norwood Park, Palatine, Park Ridge, Western Springs and Chicago (Hyde Park), Ill.
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