The Illinois Appellate Court has affirmed a defense verdict in a multi-vehicle crash on an icy Indiana highway that caused severe injuries to motorists. The big issue in the case was which state’s law should be applied at a Cook County Circuit Court jury trial. On Dec. 26, 2007, Clifford…
Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog
Dismissal with Prejudice of Case Without Choice of Law Clause in Contested Agreement Leaves Open Issue; Illinois Appellate Court Reverses
Larry Fabian was hired in 2001 by Cantor Fitzgerald to be a broker at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In 2007, he was transferred to BGC, which was a spinoff company of Cantor Fitzgerald. In 2008, Fabian was named as a partner of “Founding Partner No. 69.” According to Fabian, he…
$19.8 Million Jury Verdict for Injuries When Gas Company Worker Chose Not to Check Gas Line That Resulted in Explosion
Pengxuan Diao rented a converted garage. An employee of Southern California Gas Co. arrived while Diao was sleeping to perform maintenance. The gas company employee opened a gas valve that activated an uncapped gas line running to the garage where Diao was sleeping. The Southern California Gas Co. employee left…
$345,000 Cook County Jury Verdict for Pedestrian Severely Injured When Hit by Car Helping Injured Dog in Middle of Roadway
On May 8, 2011, Mason Brandstedter was driving on Route 59 in West Chicago, Ill., around 1:30 a.m. It was then that he discovered what appeared to be a dog, which was lying on the road and had clearly been injured. Brandstedter, 21, stopped his car facing southbound in the…
State Supreme Court Reverses Trial Court’s Denial of Summary Judgment in Single Car Crash on Highway
In the early morning hours of April 19, 2010, Chantel Jobes was driving a vehicle alone and left the southbound lane of Highway 11, crossed the northbound lane and crashed into a concrete railroad trestle. Jobes was seriously injured and filed a lawsuit against the Norfolk Southern Railway Co., the…
Injured Car Rental Customer Entitled to Underinsured Motorist Coverage Ahead of Rental Car Company’s Coverage
The Illinois Appellate Court has reversed a summary judgment order that was entered by a Cook County judge in favor of Safeway Insurance Co. In this case, Jeffrey and Stephanie Hadary were injured in a car crash when Carlos Velez was driving a car he rented from Hertz Corp. The…
The Voting Rights Acts of 2014 and U.S. Court Decision in Shelby County
In this year 2015, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 (“VRA”) was heralded as “the most effective civil rights law in the history of the United States,” Richard L. Engstrom, Race and Seven Politics, 10 ELECTION, L.J. 53, 53 (2011). The 50 years since the Voting Rights Act of 1965…
$1.4 Million Illinois Jury Verdict Resulting From Injuries to SUV Driver in Truck Crash
On May 8, 2009, Becky Lynch was driving her car eastbound on Route 9 in Fiatt, Ill., when the defendant truck driver, Myron Rachinski, pulling a flatbed trailer, was traveling southbound on Route 97 and chose not to stop at the stop sign. Rachinski and his truck proceeded into the…
$1 Million Settlement Reached for Injury to Elevator Worker Because of Safety Malfunction
A 33-year-old elevator mechanic’s helper (known only as C.E.) was working on top of a traction elevator in an apartment building in Broward County, Fla. Before starting, the elevator mechanic‘s helper engaged a safety stop switch to prevent the elevator cab from moving. When C.E. was holding onto a guide…
McHenry County, Ill., Jury Verdict in Rear-End Car Crash for Injured Driver
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…