In a personal injury lawsuit filed in Cook County concerning the pedestrian-vehicle collision that severely injured 2-year-old Angela Williams, the attorney representing Williams nonsuited the lawsuit in order to refile it with a jury demand. The plaintiff voluntarily dismissed the second amended complaint in April 2017 before refiling it days…
Articles Posted in Auto Accidents
Cook County Jury Award of $1.1 Million for Head-On Crash That Caused Shoulder Injury
A Cook County jury signed a verdict for $1,100,000 for Martin Bader and his wife Julia. They sued Giovanni Melendez-Ortiz in 2015 when it was alleged that the defendant, Melendez-Ortiz, was negligent as he drove across the center line on Green Bay Road near Keith Avenue in Waukegan, Ill., and…
$11 Million Settlement on the First Day of Trial in Truck Crash Resulting in Amputation Above the Knee
Bert Jessmon and his father worked for a private trash collection company. They were on a route with Jessmon’s father driving and Bert Jessmon riding on the back of the truck. The Jessmons stopped on a rural two-lane highway and Bert Jessmon left the truck and began walking to pick…
Illinois Appellate Court Dismisses Appeal on Underinsured Motorist Common Fund Lawsuit
Donald Waterhouse made a claim for $100,000 in underinsured motorist coverage from State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. for the injuries he suffered in a car crash caused by George D. Robinson. Robinson was insured by State Farm, which settled Waterhouse’s negligence case for his $50,000 policy limit. The common…
Illinois Appellate Court Affirms Agency Relationship for Injured Taxi Driver
Ordinarily, a person who is injured must seek a remedy from the person who caused the injury. However, the doctrine of respondeat superior provides an exception to that rule, in that a principal may be held liable for the actions of an agent who causes an injury. Edward Grinyov was…
$30.69 Million Jury Verdict for the Catastrophic Injuries Suffered by Motorist in Head-On Crash
Luisa Cruz Mezquital was driving her Mazda minivan when the oncoming 1995 Jeep Wrangler, driven by the defendant Abdulmohsen Almassud, lost control, crossed the center-line and crashed into her minivan. The Cruz driver-side window shattered. Cruz’s left hand struck the Jeep as it scraped down the side of her minivan.…
Cell Phone Deaths on Illinois and U.S. Roads and Highways are Rising Rapidly
Each year, 3,000 people on average die and 450,000 are injured in motor vehicle accidents involving distracted drivers. Ten percent of all drivers who are 15 to 19 years of age involved in fatal crashes were distracted when the car, truck or motorcycle crash occurred. The significant safety problem of…
Illinois Supreme Court Reverses Appellate Court Finding Railroad Worker Cannot Recover for Injuries Not Caused by Railroad
Christopher Wardwell was employed by the defendant, Union Pacific Railroad Co., as a switchman and conductor. On Aug. 9, 2008, Wardwell was riding in a railroad van, going from a railway yard to a train in East St. Louis, Ill., driven by the railroad’s agent, Regina Goodwin. The van was…
$689,000 Cook County Jury Verdict for Traumatic Brain Injury to Passenger in Intersection Crash
Joann Wallseck, 77, was a passenger in a car being driven by John Wallseck on Feb. 10, 2014. John Wallseck made a left turn on River Road and Camp McDonald Road in Mount Prospect, Ill., when their vehicle collided with the oncoming car driven by the defendant, James D. Murges,…
Illinois Appellate Court Finds that Restriction on Order Regarding Motion in Limine Does Not Prevent Other Party from Attempting to Enter Evidence for a Permitted Use
On Jan. 27, 2011, there was a multi-car crash on Interstate 294 in the Chicago suburbs. Kevin Boyd George drove his car into the rear of another car and that car was in turn pushed into a car driven by the plaintiff, John Larkin. Larkin’s car was pushed into the…