Elaine Shafran was stopped at a stop sign on Portwine Road and Orange Brace Road, in Riverwoods, Ill., when northbound defendant, Atsuko Alvarez, rear-ended a minivan behind the plaintiff, pushing the van into plaintiff’s station wagon. The plaintiff, a 56-year-old special education teacher, alleged that the impact caused aggravation of a pre-existing arthritis in her lumbar spine. She said she incurred medical bills of $18,000.
The defendant denied that Shafran was injured in the accident at all. She said that plaintiff waited until 9 days after the crash to get medical treatment. She first went to a chiropractor 15 months after the crash. The plaintiff, Shafran, was involved in 3 later accidents; in all of them, she was not at fault. Shafran testified that she had experienced low back pain since she delivered her first child in 1982.
During trial, the plaintiff’s medical testimony came from her internist and her chiropractor. On the defense side, the defendant hired an orthopedic surgeon to testify as to the damage feature of the case.
Before trial, the defendant offered $7,500 to settle the case. There was no demand to settle the case. The jury’s verdict of $25,000 was made up of the following damages:
- $10,000 for medical expenses;
- $10,000 for loss of normal life;
- $5,000 for pain and suffering.
The attorney for the plaintiff was Steven Dicker.
Elaine Shafran v. Atsuko Alvarez, No. 09 L 14719 (Cook County).
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling car accidents, truck crashes and injury cases 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 Stickney, Forest Park, Elmwood Park, Bedford Park, Oak Lawn, Merionnette Park, Calumet Park, Chicago (Englewood), Park Ridge, Schiller Park, Wood Dale and Brookfield, Ill.
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