Articles Posted in Back & Neck Injuries

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On May 20, 2008, Timothy Balota, 31, was driving southbound on Interstate 55 in Collinsville, Ill., when traffic came to a stop approaching a construction zone near Route 157.  Collinsville is a near east side suburb of St. Louis.  A truck was stopped behind the plaintiff’s car when the semi-tractor-trailer driven by defendant Lewis Casey rear-ended the truck at 20-30 mph.  That crash triggered a chain reaction collision, which included five vehicles. 

At the time of the crash, Balota was on his way to have staples removed from a surgery necessitated by a life-threatening accident just 13 months earlier. 

As a result of the impact of this crash, Balota sustained cervical disc injuries at C5-6, C3-4 and C6-7 with future surgery recommended by his treating physician.  Balota also suffered aggravation of pre-existing conditions in his lumbar and thoracic spine. He claimed past and future lost time as a carpenter of $485,299. 

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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.

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A Cook County jury signed a verdict of $38,681 related to an Aug. 13, 2010 rear-end car crash.  The plaintiff, Christina Pervomskaya, was stopped in a line of traffic on Waukegan Road in Glenview, Ill., when she was rear-ended by Sally Langan’s motor vehicle. 

Pervomskaya, 28, suffered a concussion, post-concussion syndrome, headaches and neck, back and shoulder strains. She worked as a dental hygienist and missed 4 days of work because of this incident.  The defendant, Langan, denied that Pervomskaya was injured to the extent that she claimed and that some of her medical care was not necessary.

Before trial, the demand to settle the case made by Pervomskaya’s counsel was $40,000.  The attorney asked the jury to return a verdict of $80,000.  The offer made by the defendant before trial was $45,000.

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On Oct. 20, 2009, Nazmi Nomat was driving eastbound on 167th Street in Hazel Crest, Ill., when a westbound van made a left turn on Western Avenue. The left front end struck the driver’s side of Nomat’s vehicle in the intersection.

Nomat, 47, suffered multiple disc herniations that required fusion surgery, cervical disc protrusion and herniations and a right ankle sprain.  Nomat incurred $913,793 in medical expenses. He also had over a $1 million in lost income as a butcher because of his injuries. 

The defendants argued that Nomat was not injured to the extent that he claimed. They also claimed that any objective finding pre-existed this crash, most of his medical care was unnecessary and he never intended to take the butcher job that was offered months before the date of the crash.  The defendants’ attorney recommended at trial a verdict of $50,000.

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On April 19, 2010, Frances Villarreal was stopped at a red light on eastbound 67th Street at Cicero Avenue in Chicago.  Villarreal was waiting to make a right turn when her car was rear-ended by the defendant, Cynthia Zaragoza.  The crash occurred during the morning rush hour.

Villarreal claimed that she suffered an aggravation of bulging discs at L4-5 and L5-S1, as well as a sacroiliac joint dysfunction, right shoulder sprain, thoracic/lumbar sprains and a right knee contusion.  Her medical bills totaled $12,163.

The defendant denied that she was negligent and claimed that Villarreal stopped suddenly and was holding a beverage. She also disputed the nature and extent of her claimed injuries and noted that photographs showed no damage to Zaragoza’s vehicle.  There were only minimal scratches to Villarreal’s car.

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On Oct. 12, 2004, Clinton Haywood, 47, was working as a Metra signal maintainer. He was unloading a 123-pound joint box from a rat bed sliding platform on the back of a truck when the rat bed unexpectedly slid into the truck. This caused the box to start to drop. Haywood bent and twisted his body to prevent the box from falling onto him.

Haywood was first diagnosed by Metra physicians with just a back sprain for which he received conservative medical treatment.

However, three years later, in 2007, Haywood was testing a signal when he fell over a fence that had been knocked down and was partially covered with snow. This incident exasperated his original back strain injury.Haywood was diagnosed with a herniated L5-S1 disk injury.  This injury was aggravated by the second work injury resulting in a one-level lumbar fusion in 2012.  Haywood attempted to return to his job after the surgery, but was not able to work after May 2013.

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On Jan. 21, 2010, Dean Economos, 18, was driving eastbound on Peterson Avenue near Rogers Avenue in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago when he rear-ended the plaintiff’s car, which was stopped. Economos’s car was traveling at 30-35 mph. 

One of the plaintiffs, 23-year-old Ana Aguilar, sustained soft tissue neck and back strains with no lost time from her job.  Her mother was also in the car. She was 40-year-old Herculana Nieto, who claimed that she suffered a herniated cervical disk in the neck and soft tissue injuries to her back. She claimed $28,202 in medical bills, but only $18,621 of those bills was allowed into evidence. Nieto claimed no lost time from work. Both of the women are factory workers. 

The defense admitted that Economos was negligent when he rear-ended the Aguila car. However, Economos denied that the proximate cause of the plaintiffs’ injuries were related to the rear-end crash.  In fact, Economos pointed out the fact that Aguilar waited 16 days before she sought medical care and that Nieto waited 25 days before she received any medical attention.

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A $41,418 jury verdict was entered by a DeKalb County, Ill., jury for Victoria Polastrini, who on Jan. 10, 2008 was stopped in a line of cars at a red light on southbound Sycamore Road (Route 23) at Dresser Road in DeKalb, Ill.  When she was stopped, her car was rear-ended by the defendant, Anthony Edds, who was using his cell phone at the time. 

Ms. Polastrini, 47 and a homemaker, suffered a neck strain, whiplash, left ulnar nerve injury that required nerve transposition surgery, cervical disc herniation with radiculopathy, and a left shoulder strain. She accumulated $44,461 in medical bills she claimed were related to her injuries.  The defendant, Edds, 23, admitted negligence.

Before trial, the demand to settle the case was $100,000.  The defendant offered $35,000 to settle. 

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On Feb. 19, 2009, Georgene Paz was eastbound on Palatine Road at Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, Illinois, when she was rear-ended by 41-year-old Richard Ahlman. Paz, age 52, drove herself to Central DuPage Hospital right after the crash complaining of lower back and neck pain.

She continued to treat with her primary care physician and received physical therapy for lower back pain radiating into her right leg through mid-April 2009.

Paz argued that her  back pain and radiating symptoms continued and were ongoing when she slipped at work and landed on her rear-end in July 2009, which  resulted in another emergency room visit and more physical therapy.

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A Cook County jury has determined that Brelinda Walker, age 58 and retired, was traveling northbound on Michigan Avenue in Chicago and while waiting to make a left turn on westbound Adam Street was hit from behind by the defendant, Adam Riley, age 21. Those facts were straightforward.  The jury also had to consider the medical evidence and the parties’ testimony about what each believed had occurred in this car crash.

Walker contended that the impact from the crash caused her cervical and lumbar disc aggravations, requiring emergency room care, MRIs, chiropractic treatment and epidural injections into the cervical and lumbar spine.  She claimed that the crash drastically changed her normal life.

The defendant Riley admitted liability in causing the impact. However, he also maintained that Walker merely sustained neck and back strains, which required only a visit to the emergency room, MRIs and 6-8 weeks of physical therapy. 

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