On June 10, 2010, Jeffrey Glazer was driving southbound on Route 59 in Barrington Hills, Ill., when he was rear-ended by a car driven by the defendant Richard Cabrera near Bartlett Road. Glazer said he had slowed to check traffic signs to determine the name of the intersecting street. The force of the crash was heavy enough to knock both rear wheels off of Glazer’s car and break the rear axle, totaling his car.
Cabrera’s vehicle sustained $4,958 in property damage. Glazer, 61 and an accountant, contended that the collision caused central disc herniations at L1-2, L4-5 and L5-S1. He also claimed that he had bilateral lumbar radiculopathy and a cervical strain. Glazer underwent numerous physical therapy procedures and chiropractic treatments, and his medical bills totaled $34,417.
The police report showed that the defendant Cabrera, 57 and a mechanic, told the investigating officer that he was distracted when his cell phone rang and when he looked up he didn’t have time to stop before he crashed his vehicle into the rear end of the Glazer car.
Cabrera admitted liability but disputed the causation, nature and extent of Glazer’s claimed injuries. Cabrera argued that Glazer’s lumbar spine findings were all pre-existing and not aggravated by this accident. Cabrera claimed that Glazer needed at most 4-8 physical therapy visits and that he sustained only soft tissue cervical/lumbar strains, which would have resolved within 6 weeks.
Over the defendant’s objection, the presiding judge allowed the vehicle damage photos into evidence and also allowed testimony that Glazer’s son was autistic along with Glazer’s claim that he was unable to participate in activities with his autistic son as a result of his injuries from this occurrence.
Before the lawsuit was filed, Cabrera offered to settle the case for $32,411.The plaintiff Glazer demanded a settlement of $100,000, which was the insurance policy limits of Cabrera.
The jury’s verdict of $55,363 was made up of the following damages?
- $20,363 for medical expenses;
- $25,000 for pain and suffering; and
- $10,000 for disability.
The attorney representing Jeffrey Glazer was Michael E. Maher.
Jeffrey Glazer v. Richard Cabrera, No. 12 L 151 (Cook County, Illinois).
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling automobile accident cases, bicycle accident cases and truck accidents for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 38 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Skokie, Winnetka, Northbrook, Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Wood Dale, Northlake, Schiller Park, Schaumburg, Riverside, Morton Grove, Chicago (Roseland, Pullman, Lake Calumet, Avalon Park, Woodlawn, Washington Park), Cicero, Waukegan, Elgin and Aurora, Ill.
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