Articles Posted in Car Accidents

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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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On Dec. 1, 2008, Sarah Conway, Kathleen O’Toole and Mary Heidkamp were passengers in Joan Steenveld’s car when it was broadsided by the defendant, Lynnard McCullough, who was driving a tractor-trailer. All but Steenveld perished in the crash. Both of the vehicles skidded off a snowy, icy road.  Steenveld’s southbound car skidded over the center line in front of McCullough’s northbound truck; he was trying to avoid a head-on collision.  Steenveld steered to the right, driving into an empty field, but her car also went off the road again winding up in the truck’s path. 

The attorney for the estates of the deceased plaintiffs asked the Cook County judge to instruct the jurors that one or more of the defendants was liable to the plaintiffs.  It was alleged that either Steenveld or McCullough or both must have been driving too fast for conditions and thus, were liable for the deaths of the decedents.  The speed limit at the place of the crashes was 55 mph, although Steenveld testified she was going 35 mph. 

Two witnesses testified that McCullough’s speed was 40-45 mph.  In addition, there was an expert who testified that McCullough’s evasive maneuver was appropriate.  Without an objection, the Cook County trial judge granted a motion in limine that requested an order barring “any argument, evidence, reference or suggestion that anything other than the alleged negligence of the defendants caused or contributed to cause plaintiffs’ injuries.”

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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 Nov. 30, 2010, Matthew Boyle was driving southbound on Forest Preserve Drive when he made a left turn with a green arrow onto eastbound Irving Park Road in Chicago.  The defendant, 25-year-old Erica Rodriguez, ran the red light while traveling westbound on Irving Park and her car collided with the Boyle car in the intersection.

Boyle, 29, was knocked unconscious and suffered a forehead laceration, which required five stitches, neck and shoulder sprain and chronic low back pain as a result of the crash.  Boyle also claimed $2,700 for lost time from his job as a funeral director because of his injuries.

The Boyle car was destroyed in the crash.  Photos of the damage to the vehicles were allowed into evidence by the court to prove the force of the impact, which was hard.

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Illinois law provides for losses suffered when an Illinois insurance company goes bankrupt, is liquidated or cannot meets its obligations.  The Illinois Insurance Guarantee Fund is available to step in when an insurance company fails.

In this case, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed and remanded a decision written by the Fifth District Appellate Court in the case of Roy Dean Rogers II. Rogers, age 18, was struck by a car driven by John Winterrowd in 2009.  Roy died as a result of this incident and his injuries.

Winterrowd was intoxicated at the time.  Rogers’s parents received in settlement two insurance payouts.  One was for $26,550 from Winterrowd’s insurance company and another $80,000 was received from the Rogers’s own automobile insurance company.

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Sarah Burns, 29, left work early on June 22, 2010 because she was not feeling well and had a migraine headache. She was driving her car northbound on Route 53 in Palatine, Ill., around 12:40 pm, when she was forced to merge into the adjacent lane in front of defendant’s Lazaro Jimenez’s minivan due to a lane closure for road construction. 

Right after the merger of the two vehicles, Jimenez, 75 and a retiree, rear-ended Burns’s car. Burns and Jimenez disputed the force of the impact. Burns testified that it was a high-speed impact, while Jimenez stated at trial that it was a low-speed crash.

Photographs of both vehicles were admitted into evidence, which showed only minor damage with small scratches to the front of Jimenez’s minivan and a dent to the rear of Burns’s car.  Jimenez reportedly had $2,111 in property damages, while the Burns car had $3,079 in property damage.

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The Illinois Appellate Court has affirmed a decision made by a Cook County Circuit Court judge regarding a twice-filed injury case.

Michael Fiorito and Joseph Bellocchio were involved in a traffic collision on Oct. 19, 2001. Fiorito was injured and hired a lawyer to sue Bellocchio. 

In August 2003, the attorney for Fiorito filed a complaint against Bellocchio in the Circuit Court of Cook County but never told Fiorito about it.  A year later, Fiorito fired his first lawyer and hired a new one.  The second attorney was unable to determine if the first attorney had filed a lawsuit and so filed a second one on his own in October 2003. 

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Illinois has adopted House Bill 1247, which puts an end to the uncertainty as to whether drivers around the state can use hand-held wireless telephones while driving. Under the bill, which was signed into law by Gov. Pat Quinn, a person may not operate a vehicle on a roadway while using an electronic communication device. The law was passed to put to an end to the confusion from town, municipality to city as to what the law is relating to hand-held devices throughout Illinois.

Violation of this section is an offense against traffic regulations, which would result in a maximum fine of $75 for the first offense, $100 for the second offense, $125 for the third offense and $150 for the fourth offense.

The law does spell out some exceptions for law enforcement officers or persons operating emergency vehicles. The new law applies directly to those using wireless telephones. The act does cover portable or mobile computers and hand-held personal digital assistant devices.

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On Sept. 24, 2006, the car being driven by Keisha Geans, who was driving while under the influence of alcohol, crashed into a concrete barrier, overturned and collided with the Miranda family car. Marco Miranda, who was 12, was left permanently disabled after suffering a serious brain injury. Geans’ blood alcohol level was .229, which is almost three times the legal limit.  Geans pleaded guilty to fourth-degree aggravated driving under the influence. The Miranda family sued for their injuries.

On Dec. 12, 2008, Universal Insurance Co., Geans’ insurer, paid the Miranda family the policy limits of $20,000. In return, the Miranda family released all claims against Geans and Universal. After the settlement was finalized, the Miranda family then filed an amended complaint adding the Walsh Group, a construction company. That was filed on Nov. 29, 2010. The Miranda family sued Walsh for negligence, alleging that the concrete barrier it placed on the side of the road was done negligently and was a contributing cause of the crash.

The Miranda family also then sued for contribution  against Geans, alleging that Geans’ driving was a proximate cause of Marco Miranda’s injuries. Geans moved to dismiss claiming that the settlement had ended any liability as to her.

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On Aug. 12, 2009, Jaime Lindsey’s vehicle was stopped on northbound Hawthorne Road (Route 59) awaiting a red light at Dundee Road in Barrington Hills, Ill.  At that point, the defendant Stephen Pernal lost control of his car while turning from Dundee Road (Route 68) onto southbound Hawthorne;  his car collided with Lindsey’s vehicle in a head-on impact. Lindsey is a 17-year-old student.  She sustained a medial meniscus tear in her right knee, which required surgery. 

The defendant argued at the trial that the torn meniscus came from  Lindsey’s long dancing career and was not related to the collision because it was not diagnosed until March 2011, almost two years after the crash.

The jury, however, had a different opinion.  The jury’s verdict of $51,361 was made up of the following damages:

  • $27,361 for medical expenses; and 
  • $24,000 for pain and suffering.

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