On May 23, 2008, the plaintiff in this case, Carla C. Hudson, 43, was stopped at a red light on northbound Walnut Lane at Golf Road in Schaumburg, Ill. The pickup truck driven by the defendant Barry McDonald, a Schaumburg Park District employee, was stopped directly in front of Hudson’s…
Matthew Schaefer’s employer, Brand Energy, was putting in place a scaffold at the Dynegy Power Plant. Brand Energy had complete control over the scaffold construction and had acquired the scaffold components from Universal Scaffolding & Equipment LLC. Dynegy paid for the scaffolding and owned it. Brand Energy workers had difficulty…
On July 21, 2007, Terri Whitehead was involved in a two-car crash in Wisconsin. The driver of the other car did not have insurance. Section 143.1 of the Illinois Insurance Code saved Whitehead’s uninsured motorist claim from being barred by a two-year deadline for initiating arbitration. Although Whitehead did not…
Heron Salgado, a construction worker, was employed by Abel Building & Restoration in January 2011 when he was assigned to work at a job site at 51st Street. He was working on a scaffold design that was built, erected and maintained by Designed Equipment Acquisition Corp. While he was working…
The Illinois Supreme Court has handed down a decision that affirmed a December 2015 ruling by Cook County Associate Judge William E. Gomolinski. The original lawsuit was a medical-malpractice case filed no more than a month after the law, which permitted a unilateral decision by a party to empanel 6-person…
In a memorandum opinion written by a Cook County Circuit Court Chancery judge, it was ruled that an exhibit to the complaint did not control contrary allegations because the documents served as “mere evidence” rather than the foundation for a claim. The judge’s opinion reflected that Illinois National Insurance Co.…
It comes as no surprise for those who have any connection with or knowledge of the Cook County jail, but in a report from California states that more than 33,000 mentally ill inmates account for about 25% of the entire prison population in that state. It is well- known in…
The Illinois Appellate Court has reversed a Circuit Court judge’s order dismissing a lawsuit related to insurance coverage. John Smolinski was in a car accident on March 3, 2012. At the time, Smolinski was driving a rented car. Mr. Smolinski had previously entered into a “personal auto policy” with Allmerica…
The defendant Southern Illinois Hospital Services d/b/a Herrin Hospital (Herrin Hospital) appealed from the trial court’s July 25, 2014 order adjudicating liens and distributing the settlement proceeds from an injury case. Herrin Hospital contended that the trial judge improperly included Medicare, Medicare Part D and Medicaid “liens” in the total…
Gilbert Gail Gerth was riding his lawnmower down a street when he was rear-ended by a pickup truck. The incident killed Gerth. At the time of the collision, the defendant pickup owner and driver, Gary Sachau, was insured under an automobile insurance policy with a $30,000 liability limit. Gerth had…