Articles Posted in Truck Accidents

by

Michael Williamson was driving a gasoline tanker truck when he died on April 23, 2003, after a truck driven by Arthur Asher crossed into oncoming traffic on an Illinois highway. The two vehicles collided, and both men died as a result of the crash. The truck company that owned the Williamson truck paid workers’ compensation benefits to Williamson’s widow, Mary Catherine Williamson, in the amount of $283,549.80. 

In the meantime, the Williamson family brought a lawsuit against several defendants for the wrongful death of Michael. After a jury verdict was reduced, a recovery of $1 million plus 9% interest from State Farm Insurance  was made. The total amount received was $1,503,506.85. It took six years to receive the funds.

The employer for Williamson then petitioned the court to seek not only its workers’ compensation lien of $283,549.80 less 25% for attorney fees and the prorated share of the costs, but also wanted interest that the Williamson family had received at 9% on the judgment.Interest on the jury verdict was $503,506.85.The trial judge denied the employer’s petition for interest on its workers’ compensation lien.

Continue reading

by

A federal court jury entered a $393,750 verdict for the plaintiff, Carmen Santillan, 47, who was driving her SUV westbound on Interstate 90 in Chicago when her car was rear-ended by a semi-tractor-trailer driven by the defendant, Daniel Ducharme.  Ducharme was employed by Martin’s Bulk Milk Service, Inc. The crash, on July 11, 2008, was with great force in that the impact bent the rear frame of Santillan’s SUV and pushed the SUV ahead. 

Carmen was taken to Lutheran General Hospital, where she remained hospitalized for four days with knee, back and neck pain. She was later diagnosed with a herniated L5-S1 disc. She also claimed right knee and shoulder trauma, which required injections. This  led to permanent disability. She never returned to work after the accident and currently receives Social Security disability benefits. Her medical bills totaled $104,000. Carmen was an airline reservation clerk for 18 years before the crash.

The defendant, Ducharme, claimed that the crash took place because he was trying to free his floor mat, which had become trapped under the accelerator pedal. Liability was admitted by the defendants. The case was tried on damages only. Before the conclusion of the trial, the parties discussed high/low parameters, but could not reach an agreement on that.

Continue reading

by

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.

Continue reading

by

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.” 

Continue reading

by

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 fault.It was mine.”

Betty Jordan, the motorcyclist, was severely injured when her motorcycle collided with a semi-trailer truck on an Indianapolis interstate highway. Both of Jordan’s legs were amputated at the knees. The Jordans filed suit against the trucker and his employer for negligence and loss of consortium. 

After a jury verdict for the defendants, the plaintiffs appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that the district court erred in ruling that the state trooper’s testimony — about what the husband told him — was hearsay under Federal Rule of Evidence (FRE) 801.

Continue reading

by

A flatbed tractor-trailer driver was assigned to load and deliver 7,000-pound concrete barriers. The barriers were being loaded into rows onto the driver’s trailer. The truck driver was standing next to his trailer strapping down the first row of barriers when a crane operator was loading the second row. 

As the crane operator was moving a barrier, it struck another one in the truck causing it to fall onto the driver. He suffered a traumatic, below-the-knee amputation of his left leg.

The driver, age 44, underwent several surgeries resulting in an above-the-knee amputation of the leg. He has been working with prosthesis, but continues to undergo revisions and adjustments. His past medical expenses totaled $283,700. He has not been able to return to work. The trucker faces very limited prospects for long-term employment because of his limited formal education. He is undergoing retraining for a different line of work compatible with his training.

Continue reading

by

A federal court jury in St. Louis found that the driver of a tractor-trailer, Ilija Kuresevic of Fort Worth, Texas, was responsible for the crash in the early morning hours of Feb. 26, 2010 in Effingham County, Ill.  The injured party, George Reaves Jr., a St. Louis County truck driver, rear-ended another truck driven by Kuresevic on Interstate 70 in Illinois. 

Reaves claimed that the Kuresevic truck stopped or almost stopped in the roadway at 3 a.m., which was the reason for the crash. 

Reaves’s lawsuit said that when his UPS tractor trailer rear-ended Kuresevic’s truck, Reaves was seriously injured. He claimed that he injured his head, face, back and other parts of his body, including the loss of the tip of his tongue.Reaves was also rear-ended by another truck.

Continue reading

by

The Seventh Circuit United States Court of Appeals has affirmed a decision by the district court judge regarding the burden of proof in a Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) case.

Ronald Williams was a substitute U.S. Postal Service letter carrier who had parallel parked his truck to visit a friend.  The plaintiffs in this case, David Furry and Diane Nye, were driving by that home when their vehicle collided with the parked U.S. Postal Service truck, which was driven by Williams.

Furry and Nye testified that they did not see the postal truck before the impact. Williams, realizing that regardless of the outcome, he would be fired for the use of his truck to visit a friend, offered Furry $500 not to report the incident.  

Continue reading

by

An Illinois truck accident case was reviewed by the Illinois Appellate Court to determine whether or not the trial court had erred in its delivery of jury instructions and whether the jury had awarded too much damages. However, after reviewing the case facts, the appellate court upheld the trial court proceedings and eventual verdict in Andrzej Chraca v. Steven Miles, 2011 Ill.App. (1st) 100537-U.

The Chraca lawsuit involved a 2004 car crash between Andrzej Chraca and Steven Miles. Chraca was driving an SUV at the time, while Miles was driving an Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) truck. Both Chraca and Miles suffered degrees of paralysis following the Schaumburg truck accident and both drivers filed personal injury lawsuits against each other.

The two cases were consolidated into one personal injury lawsuit by the Circuit Court of Cook County. At the end of the trial, the court ruled in favor of Chraca and against Miles. Chraca was awarded $23.8 million in damages, which was broken down as follows:

-$500,000 for disfigurement;
-$593,335 for past medical expenses;
-$3.5 million for future medical expenses;
-$2.5 million for past and future pain and suffering; and
-$18 million for past and future loss of a normal life.

And while both lawsuits were consolidated for the purposes of the Cook County personal injury trial, the appeal deals only with the lawsuit filed by Chraca.

Continue reading

by

 

 

Jeffrey Elder, 43, was brought to the emergency department at Provena St. Joseph Hospital in Joliet, Ill., with severe chest pains. The emergency department physician, Dr. Andrew Zwolski, determined that Elder was not having a heart attack. However, he did order a CT scan, which showed a dilated aorta. This often leads to a diagnosis of an aortic dissection.  If confirmed, an aortic dissection would require immediate surgical repair to save the life of the patient. Aortic dissection symptoms are similar to those of other heart problems, such as a heart attack. Typical signs and symptoms include sudden severe chest or upper back pain, shortness of breath, sweating and a weak pulse.

 

To rule in or out the diagnosis of the aortic dissection, a CT scan with contrast was required. Because Dr. Zwolski’s shift was ending, he instead chose to delay the contrast CT testing until Elder was admitted into a room.

 

Before leaving the hospital, Dr. Zwolski called another internist, Dr. Hussain, who was named as a defendant as well, to admit Elder and take over as the attending physician.  He also called the defendant cardiologist, Dr. Yi, to provide a cardiac consultation.

 

Continue reading