During a jury trial in LaSalle County, Ill., the jury found in favor of Ty Benckendorf, who was a backseat passenger in a car traveling southbound in Marseilles, Ill., on Oct. 20, 2010. The defendant, 75-year-old Juliann Huber, was driving a car that was heading southwest. It pulled into the…
On Sept. 8, 2011, the defendant 31-year-old Anna Tudzich, was driving a car that rear-ended John Dodaro’s car on southbound Harlem Avenue near 47th Street in Lyons Township, Ill. The 30 mph impact caused Dodaro to experience immediate neck and back pain and significant damage to his pickup truck and…
On May 9, 2009, Christopher Billmann, 27, was stopped on Route 176 in Island Lake, Ill., when his car was rear-ended by the defendant Brian Freeman in what was described as a violent impact. Billmann sustained a lumbosacral sprain, soft tissue injuries and a bulging disc. Billmann claimed to have…
On Sept. 10, 2007, Paul Ermel was driving a semi-tractor northbound on Route 47 in Sugar Grove, Ill., when the defendant, Zachary McVeigh, who was approaching in his car from the southbound, attempted a left turn. He was trying to turn on at Waubansee Drive, which is the entry for…
On Nov. 25, 2008, Thomas J. Hagerman was driving westbound on Route 6 in Morris, Ill., when the defendant, Betty Leake, who was attempting to make a left turn onto Lisbon Street, chose not to yield the right-of-way. Instead, Leake turned directly in front of Hagerman’s truck, causing Hagerman to…
Allen Ginn, the owner of a trucking company, drove his truck to a sawmill to unload the logs he was hauling. When he reached his designated unloading area, the mill employees instructed him to release the tie-down straps on his load. As he did that, a log fell onto him…
On June 23, 2009, Ramon Ortiz was driving northbound on Sacramento Boulevard and stopped at a red light at the intersection of Chicago Avenue in Chicago, Ill. When the light turned green, he started into the intersection and his car was hit by the defendant’s car. Richard Sakre was driving…
Stephen Wolkoff, 65, rented a self-storage unit from Sunshine Storage Inc. There was a loft storage unit above Wolkoff’s storage unit. The floor of the loft comprised the ceiling of Wolkoff’s storage unit. When Wolkoff was inside his unit, the ceiling above him collapsed crushing him beneath 3,000 pounds of…
Theodus Williams was driving a fully loaded dump truck owned by Valvano Construction when he lost control of the vehicle on a two-lane highway. This caused a crash with another car, which in turn rear-ended an SUV in which Holly Ann Cuchwara was riding. After being rear-ended, the SUV hit…
Robert Barnett, a homeowner, hired Dawson Construction LLC to do some home repair work. The work included climbing a ladder to get on the roof to make some repairs to it. Juan Garcia , a 43-year-old day laborer, was working for Dawson Construction at the time. Garcia was asked to…