Articles Posted in Personal Injury

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Plaintiff Joyce Kilburg was injured while she was a passenger in a taxicab. She filed a lawsuit claiming negligence and spoliation of evidence against defendants, which included the driver of the Zante Cab Co. taxi, Taxi Medallion Management, Inc. (Taxi Medallion), Taxi Affiliation Services, LLC (Taxi Affiliation) and Wolley Cab Association (Wolley). 

On the defendants’ motion under Illinois Code of Procedure §2-615, the spoliation claims were dismissed. The plaintiff appealed, arguing that the trial judge erred in dismissing the spoliation claims because her complaint sets forth sufficient facts to show that defendants had a duty to preserve the evidence.

In this case, on Oct. 6, 2009, Kilburg was injured when a taxi in which she was a passenger left the roadway and crashed into a tree. Zante was the owner of the taxi. On Oct. 8, 2009, Zante towed the taxi to a lot on Elston Avenue in Chicago. Taxi Medallion leased the lot and stored taxis there.

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A $5 million jury verdict was handed down in the first of the federal multidistrict litigation cases involving patients claiming injury from the body scan contrast agent gadolinium. The Ohio jury found GE Healthcare chose not to provide the necessary health risk warnings with patients with impaired kidney function when gadolinium is used in a body scan. The gadolinium product is a contrast dye used in MRI and other radiographic scanning.

The plaintiff in this case developed an untreatable skin disease called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) as a result of being injected with the Omniscan for magnetic resonance angiogram. Omniscan is the prescription medication with gadolinium as a product that is used to screen patients for acute kidney injury or other conditions related to reduced renal function.

The drug makers of the Omniscan product, GE Healthcare, Bayer and Covidien have defended hundreds of lawsuits claiming injuries from the gadolinium-based contrast agent products. 

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Benjamin Faught rear-ended Luis Gavino’s car on southbound Interstate 94 in Deerfield, Ill., in the early morning hours of Oct. 3, 2009.  The impact caused the plaintiff’s car to spin several times and crash into a cement median strip.

Gavino, 57, sustained a posterior tibialis tendon tear, located on the inner side of the ankle and aggravation of pre-existing arthritis in his left ankle. This required surgery to the tendon and an ankle fusion. Gavino also had a neck, shoulder and back soft tissue injury.

The defendant, 22-year-old Benjamin Faught, admitted to consuming seven vodka drinks prior to the crash. He pleaded guilty to a charge of DUI. The defendant admitted liability, but evidence of alcohol intoxication was permitted pursuant to the plaintiff’s agreement to withdraw a punitive damage claim as part of the high/low agreement.

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Kristen Beauford was on her bicycle in the northbound bike lane at 100 S. Halsted in Chicago.  The defendant, Nicolas Kapsoulos, was driving his car away from a Starbucks at that Chicago Greektown location.  As Kapsoulos attempted to make a left turn onto northbound Halsted, he struck Kristen, who was on her bicycle. The car knocked her off her bike and onto the adjacent sidewalk. 

Ms. Beauford, 22, suffered a torn medial meniscus of her knee and a bulging back disc at the lowest level, L5-S1. She underwent epidural steroid injections and physical therapy.

Ms. Beauford lost 3 days of work as an office assistant. The defendant, Mr. Kapsoulos, admitted his negligence.  The issue at trial was the nature and extent of the plaintiff’s injuries. Before trial, Ms. Beauford made a demand to settle the case for $65,000. The offer made by the defendant was $994. 

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