Deirdre Hastings was an ironworker employed by Area Erectors Inc.On March 5, 2007, Hastings was unloading steel beams from the bed of a flatbed truck. The steel beams were hooked to a 90-ton hydraulic crane, which would move the steel onto the building that was being constructed. The crane was rented…
Chicago Injury Lawyer Blog
Opposing Statutes of Limitation Chosen in Appellate Court Case; Advanced Credit v. Linares
The Illinois Appellate Court has reversed a decision by a Cook County judge in a case involving two statutes of limitation, which were possible choices in a breach of contract case. On Aug. 2, 2002, the plaintiff, Advanced Credit Inc. (ACI), and the defendant Samuel Linares signed a promissory note…
Cook County Jury Verdict for Pedestrian Struck by Car at Midblock
Pedestrian Eusebio Camacho was struck and injured when crossing midblock at night by defendant Michael Lynch’s eastbound car. Camacho received a $56,803 verdict although a 50 percent comparative fault reduction was entered by the jury. The accident occurred on Oct. 12, 2010 when Camacho was walking northbound across Irving Park…
US Court of Appeals Affirms Indemnification in Wrongful Death Lawsuit in Rented Boom Lift Case
Humberto Menendez was working for Steine Cold Storage, Inc., which was a subcontractor for the installation of thermo units at a Wal-Mart store under construction in Indiana. Steine rented a boom lift from NES Rentals. NES Rentals delivered the lift to the construction site on Aug. 23, 2006. The Steine foreman on…
Illinois Appellate Court Affirms Judgment Against Insurer Who Neglected Injury Case; Delatorre v. Safeway Ins. Co.
In this auto accident case, the defendant insurance company, Safeway Insurance Co., insured Ruben Delatorre under a policy of insurance with a limit of $40,000. Safeway hired an attorney to represent Delatorre in the personal injury lawsuit brought against Delatorre. However, the lawyer for Delatorre/Safeway never submitted a bill and was never…
U.S. Court of Appeals Affirms Court’s Dismissal of Employee Termination; Cromwell v. City of Momence
The Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed a decision by a federal district court judge in the Central District of Illinois, finding that an employee handbook that was silent as to termination of a nonprobationary employee compared to the section on probationary employees was insufficient to overcome Illinois’…
117,000 Cook County Jury Verdict for Injured in Rear-End School Bus Crash
Dorma Lawson, age 59, was driving northbound on Western Avenue in Chicago Heights, Ill., when she stopped to make a left turn into a bank parking lot north of Lincoln Highway. Lawson’s car was then rear-ended by a Kickert school bus. Lawson claimed that she sustained soft tissue injuries to her…
A Party’s Statement Defeats Motorcycle/Truck Injury Case; Jordan v. Binns
The Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago found that an injured motorcyclist’s husband’s statement was an admissible statement for the jury to hear and not barred as hearsay. The man told a state trooper that although his wife was severely injured, she said to him: “I’m sorry. It’s not the trucker’s…
Illinois Supreme Court Considers Dispute Over Commuting Worker Injured in Car Accident
The Illinois Supreme Court has taken a case for consideration dealing with the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission as to an employee’s commute from a motel to a job site. The issue in the case is whether the employee is covered for his injuries by the Workers’ Compensation Act when he was…
Cook County Jury Verdict for Rear-End Stop Light Crash Exceeds Insurance Policy Limits
A Cook County jury returned a $21,762 verdict for a 68-year-old man who was stopped at a red light on southbound Harlem Avenue at Jackson Boulevard in Chicago. Tehudulio Roman was waiting for the traffic light to change when his car was rear-ended by the defendant, 18-year-old Daniel Garcia, in a…