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…
John Smokes worked for a temporary employment agency, Adecco Staffing and was assigned to work at Dentsply Prosthetics. While at work at Dentsply, Smokes was trained on the operation of a rotary mold press machine. Two weeks after starting his training, while placing a mold into the load area of…
Deanne Berrey was working for Curry Ice when she was injured in a car accident caused by Sheri Campbell who only had $100,000 in liability insurance coverage. Berrey sued Campbell and also collected $103,224 in worker’s compensation benefits. In addition, Berrey claimed underinsured-motorist benefits under a $1 million policy that…
The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed a decision of a Cook County judge barring testimony of the plaintiff, Bettie Payton-White, because she was more than 15 minutes late to a court-mandated arbitration session. In November 2010, a car crash occurred between the motor vehicle driven by Bettie Payton-White and one driven…
Fong Yang was 16 years old with diagnoses of severe autism and Down syndrome. Fong had a history of running away from his Fresno school when left unsupervised. Because of Fong’s tendency to run off, his teacher told the First Student bus dispatcher that the bus driver should not drop…
The mediation of cases involves opposing positions. A mediation session begins with a brief opening statement by the mediator laying out for the parties and lawyers that the process that is about to take place will remain confidential. The mediator in most settings will mention a few exceptions and explain confidentiality when…
Lawyers are often lured into the prospect of settlement by casually agreeing to sign off on mediation agreements proposed by either the mediator or the opposite counsel. The obvious purpose of mediation is to resolve disputes that would be costly with an unpredictable result. Settlements are good for both parties in that…