Russell Sheaffer was a graduate film student at Indiana University. He was in California making a documentary and was driving in moderate stop-and-go traffic on a freeway. As he was stopped in the line of traffic, Thomas Mose, driving a tanker truck for NuCO2, rear-ended a vehicle two cars behind…
Articles Posted in Car Accidents
Spoliation of Evidence Claim Against Insurance Company in Related Product-Liability and Personal-Injury Action is Dismissed and Affirmed on Appeal
The Illinois Appellate Court has affirmed the dismissal of a 42-count fourth amended complaint for damages arising from an automobile accident in December 2009. The case involved injuries to the wife and son of Nicholas Skridla — Margaret and Maxamillian. The appeal pertains only to the claim of spoliation of…
$222,000 DuPage County Jury Verdict in Rear-End Crash
A car driven by Timothy Walsh rear-ended the vehicle occupied and driven by Joseph and Karen Skutas, husband and wife, in Downers Grove, Ill., on Dec. 7, 2008. Joseph, 60, sustained a full-thickness tear to his left rotator cuff and a partial tear of the right rotator cuff. He required…
Illinois Appellate Court Reinstates $175,000 Verdict Because Trial Judge Ordered Mistrial after Jury Returned Verdict
On Sept. 9, 2008, the plaintiff, Kevin Burkhamer, was injured when he was struck by a car driven by the defendant, Mel Richard Krumske. Burkhamer filed a lawsuit against Krumske claiming that he injured his hip, elbow, shoulder, left hand, neck and back. Burkhamer was employed as an ironworker and…
$162,500 Cook County Jury Verdict when Two Cabs Collide in Chicago’s Loop, Injuring Passenger
On March 11, 2011, Veronica Thomas was a passenger in a taxi cab heading eastbound on Jackson Boulevard in Chicago’s Loop when the defendant cab ran a red light on southbound State Street and struck the plaintiff’s cab, which she was riding in. As a result of the crash, Thomas,…
Settlement Confirmed by Illinois Appellate Court Where Trial Judge’s Recollection of Pre-trial Agreement Was Clear
The Illinois Appellate Court for the 1st District has affirmed a trial court’s decision regarding a settlement. Gary Hines and Lisa O’Rourke were in Chicago visiting Hines’s father, Norman, near the end of 2012. As the visit was ending, Norman drove the two to the airport. When they arrived, Norman…
Illinois Appellate Court Finds that Illinois Law Would Not Apply in Indiana Truck Crash and Reverses Trial Judge
In a case involving injury to James and Theresa Denton, who were injured by an 18-wheeler truck in Indiana, the trial court allowed the application of Illinois law, but the Illinois Appellate Court reversed finding that Indiana law applied. James Denton was injured in Indiana when his car was…
$81,000 Cook County Jury Verdict for Cab Passenger Injured in Car Crash
On March 25, 2011, Patricia Anderson was a passenger in a taxi driven by the defendant Chouaib Sadix, who was driving westbound on Grand Avenue in Chicago. As the cab approached Central Park Avenue, other westbound cars were stopped for a red light. The cab passed those vehicles on the…
Cook County Jury Verdict in Admitted Liability for Pedestrian Hit by Pickup Truck
On Feb. 2, 2012, Elliot Gonzalez was walking northbound across Erie Street at May Street in Chicago when he was hit in the crosswalk by Patrick Kennely’s pickup truck. Kennely was a commercial property manager and was making a left turn from northbound May Street onto Erie at the time…
U.S. Court of Appeals Finds That Circumstantial Evidence Without an Expert Insufficient in Automobile Design and Manufacturing Defect Case
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago has affirmed a decision by the district court judge regarding circumstantial evidence without an expert witness. In this case, the plaintiffs, Howard Piltch and Barbara Nelson-Piltch, were driving in their 2003 Mercury Mountaineer in 2006 when they were involved in…