It is sometimes overlooked in trial practice or not given enough emphasis that the conduct of a defendant must be proved to have proximately caused the injuries or damages claimed in the pleadings. Also, expert testimony must meet the rules of scientific reliability. For example, Gary McCann, an engineer for…
Anthony Waring was a worker for a company that owned and operated an assisted-living facility. Waring was in the process of retrieving a snow shovel from a shed on the facility’s grounds. He fell on snow and ice as he was walking down the ramp leading from the shed. Waring was 22…
Teodoro Ramirez was injured while working for his employer and subcontractor, Sullivan Roofing. The case was tried before a jury in Cook County against the general contractor on the project, FCL Builders. At the end of the trial, the trial judge included Sullivan Roofing on the jury verdict form for apportioning fault…
Scott Weigle and John Moore, two mechanics, were working on a trailer from a semi-truck. Weigle and Moore had considerable experience as mechanics working at a trucking repair company. On July 31, 2009, Weigle and Moore were about to do a job to rebuild the braking system on a semi-truck trailer. …
The Illinois Appellate Court has affirmed a partial summary judgment order for a defendant in a head-on crash and death case. This case arose out of a collision in which the car driven by Jeffrey Pister was struck head-on by an employee of the defendant, Matrix Service Industrial Contractors. At…
On Aug. 31, 2009, the plaintiff, Juan Zamora, filed a lawsuit alleging negligence against the defendants for injuries he suffered. A lawsuit was filed against defendants Cheri and Paul Payne. On March 24, 2010, that lawsuit was dismissed because it was barred by the exclusivity provisions of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation…
A district court judge in Chicago granted the motion of defendant Ryobi Technologies Inc. to exclude an expert witness as unreliable and irrelevant. Purportedly, it would have cost Ryobi $50 to $150 to install an automatic braking system on the table saw that sliced off Brandon Stollings’s index finger and portions of…
Paul Junod, 51, a locomotive mechanic, fell from an elevated platform while changing shock absorbers at the Illinois Central Railroad’s Woodcrest shop in Homewood, Ill. Junod suffered multiple fractures of his left wrist with median and radial nerve damage, which required open reduction internal fixation with a plate and screws inserted. Following…
In October 2007, John Walls suffered a work injury at I-Maxx Metalworks Inc. when “a stair stringer and/or perimeter cable protection failed.” Walls filed suit against I-Maxx, Turner Construction, Frontier Construction and against Waukegan Steel Sales. The lawsuit alleged that Waukegan Steel negligently chose not manage, operate and maintain the work…
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined Cold Drawn Inc., a St. Louis steel manufacturer, for $52,000 after finding more than two dozen safety violations. OSHA investigated a worker’s electrocution at the St. Louis Cold Drawn plant. Cold Drawn manufactures cold-finished steel bars at plants…