Articles Posted in Car Accidents

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On June 27, 2009, Michael Gibson was a back-seat passenger in a car that was rear-ended by defendant Louise Damen at LaGrange Road (Route 45) and Interstate 80 in Will County, Ill.  Gibson, 18, maintained that the impact caused his left knee to hit the console inside the car, tearing his left anterior cruciate ligament. Gibson also claimed a torn right rotator cuff in his right shoulder and neck injuries.  He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and later an interior cruciate ligament graft reconstruction/repair surgery, and is at increased risk of future injury to the knee.

Two other persons in the Gibson vehicle were injured and also sued but took a non-suit on the day of trial.

The defendant Damen,  64, argued that Gibson did not seek treatment until two days after the crash. She also said doctors who examined his knee within days of the accident found it to be stable without swelling or any signs of ACL tear. Damen said an MRI taken less than one month post-accident showed an intact ACL, but only a possible meniscus tear.

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On June 3, 2008, the plaintiff, Richard Girden, who was a right side rear-seat passenger in a Land Rover, was stopped on southbound Route 59 at 119th Street in Will County, Ill.  Another vehicle, driven by Fidel Ramirez, was stopped behind the Land Rover.  The Girden vehicle had been stopped for about a minute when the defendant Kathryne Niswonger’s vehicle drove into the rear of the Ramirez vehicle, pushing it into the Girden Land Rover.

At the time of the impact,  Girden, 50, was seat-belted and facing to his left lane with his two-year-old granddaughter, who was in a car seat in the middle of the back seat. His hips and shoulders were turned to his left. His right leg was extended under the front passenger seat. 

At the time of the crash, there appeared to be no damage to the Land Rover. Girden denied injury to the police at the scene.  However, two hours later, Girden experienced pain and pulling in his right hip when he tried to pick up his granddaughter. 

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The amendment to the Illinois Vehicle Code expands the existing ban on e-mailing while driving.  The new act goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. The law prohibits the use of all electronic communication devices while driving with a few narrow exceptions. 

Except for hands-free telephone use, GPS navigation, CB and Ham radios and emergency situations, Illinois drivers will be prohibited from using electronic communication devices.  This would obviously include handheld mobile telephones, texting and e-mailing. 

The new law reads this way:  A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a roadway while using an electronic communication device.  The Public Act 98-0506  originally contained words at the end of the current act that read: “. . . to compose, send or read an electronic message.” The way the law is written now, there should be no confusion.

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On Jan. 14, 2010, Anthony Rossi was driving eastbound on 95th Street in Oak Lawn, Ill.  The corner of his car was hit by a semi-tractor-trailer truck on the same eastbound 95th Street driven by the defendant, Steven Groft, as he was changing lanes.  The crash caused Rossi’s car to spin out of control. 

Rossi, age 28, refused to be taken to a hospital by ambulance, but later drove himself to the emergency room at Christ Hospital.  The defendants defended the case, arguing for limiting the severity of Rossi’s injuries.

Rossi maintained that he suffered a ligamentous cervical injury (whiplash), facet joint syndrome, aggravation of cervical spondylosis and chronic neck pain, which required a series of facet and trigger point injections and nerve ablations. Rossi had applied for a job as a Cook County Correctional Officer. He was not hired. Rossi claimed that his injuries from the crash prevented him from being hired by the County.  He is now unemployed and a stay-at-home father.

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On July 31, 2008, a multi-car collision occurred in which the car driven by Gregory Mlot rear-ended the vehicle in front of him driven by Michael Dervin.  Wendy Palacios was a passenger in Dervin’s car.  It was alleged that the Dervin vehicle then rear-ended the vehicle in front of him, a Jeep driven by Lavita Gayle. 

Palacios filed a lawsuit for her injuries against Mlot, his employer, DMD Services, and Dervin. Dervin then filed a lawsuit for his injuries against Mlot and DMD Services. The cases were consolidated. 

In the answer filed by Mlot and DMD Services, they raised affirmative defenses of Dervin’s contributory negligence. 

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The family of a woman who died when her Toyota Camry suddenly accelerated and crashed, despite her efforts to stop it, has sued the Toyota Motor Corp. In opening statement the attorney for the plaintiff’s family asked the jury to return a verdict in excess of $20 million.

This case involves the death of Noriko Uno, who died in her Camry in 2009. This is the first case of this sort to go to trial in state court. The case was filed in Los Angeles County, Calif.

Toyota had recalled millions of its vehicles worldwide after it was reported by its drivers that some of its vehicles were surging without notice. The company has agreed to pay $1 billion in other related lawsuits.

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A bill signed into law by Illinois Gov. Patrick J. Quinn permits the Illinois Secretary of State to retroactively invalidate a driver’s license if the minor had a citation for which a disposition had not been rendered when the license was issued. In other words, a permit driver, 18 years old or younger, who has a pending traffic ticket, will be unable to obtain an Illinois driver’s license. 

This new law is effective immediately. The House Bill 1009 was sponsored by Rep. John D’Amico and Sen. Martin Sandoval, both Chicago Democrats.

In addition, the new law allows prosecutors to request the court to invalidate a driver’s license if he or she caused death or serious injury while breaking traffic rules.

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A class action lawsuit has been filed against Travelers Insurance Co. alleging that it misled injured individuals in car accident cases against Travelers’ insureds.  The case, filed in the Chancery Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County by Sabrina Roppo, alleges that when she was injured in a car accident with a Travelers’ insured. Dhe was advised that the policy of insurance provided to the wrongdoer was $500,000. 

However, it was discovered that there was an additional $1 million umbrella policy that Roppo alleges was not disclosed to her by Travelers. According to the lawsuit, even though the Travelers’ insured paid a premium for the $1 million umbrella coverage, the company chose not to disclose that the umbrella policy was available. 

The lawsuit contends that Roppos suffered additional financial losses because of the misrepresentation. The lawsuit also states that about 500 other individuals injured by Travelers’ insureds were affected by this practice dating back to 1988. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages.

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In 2007, Illinois amended the Wrongful Death Act to add language saying, “including damages for grief, sorrow and mental suffering.” The language was added to the description of available wrongful death damages.

According to this Chicago federal court case, Hammond v. System Transport, Inc., the Illinois legislature’s intentions in amending the wrongful death statute “was to compensate for the spouse’s and next of kin’s emotional consequences from the end of a decedent’s life, including the process or manner of death.”  The damages, grief, sorrow and mental suffering resulting from the manner of death may be compensable under the Wrongful Death Act, according to the case opinion.

However, the court held that “evidence of defendant Austin’s [the truck driver’s] negligence, such as the allegation that he violated rules limiting the hours he could work before resting, which resulted in his falling asleep and running a stop sign, is not relevant to plaintiff’s claim.” 

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Heike Wehrle and Robert Wehrle were severely injured in an auto crash with a drunk driver who had minimal insurance coverage.  The Wehrles had an underinsured motorist insurance policy with Cincinnati Insurance Co. that paid the difference between their $1 million coverage limit and the $200,000 that they received from the at-fault driver. 

The Wehrles sued Cincinnati claiming that they were entitled to the full $1 million of underinsurance rather than $800,000, which was the difference between the $1 million provided by Cincinnati and the $200,000 provided by the insurance company for the tortfeasor drunk driver.

The Wehrles were driving their sport-utility vehicle in Kane County, Ill., in December 2010.  They were hit by a drunk driver, Eric Barth. The Wehrles were severely injured and their medical expenses and damages far exceeded the policy limits of either Barth’s insurance or their own underinsurance policy. 

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