Articles Posted in Wrongful Death

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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.

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Humberto Menendez was working for Steine Cold Storage, Inc., which was a subcontractor for the installation of thermo units at a Wal-Mart store under construction in Indiana. Steine rented a boom lift from NES Rentals. 

NES Rentals delivered the lift to the construction site on Aug. 23, 2006. The Steine foreman on site signed a 1-page, double-sided, rental agreement that was given to him by NES Rentals.

A paragraph including an indemnification clause was posted on the backside of the rental agreement. The indemnification clause stated that Steine indemnified NES against any claims arising out of negligence as to the use of the rented boom lift. 

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In November 2008, Chavonne Freeman, 53, was stopped in traffic on westbound 144th Place at LaGrange Park in Orland Park, Illinois, when her car was rear-ended by a U.S. Postal Service vehicle. Freeman was taken from the scene to the emergency room at Palos Community Hospital. She complained of neck and back pain. She followed up with her primary care physician two days later with complaints of neck, back and knee pain. 

Six weeks after the crash, Dec. 29, 2008, Freeman was seen by an orthopedic surgeon; she complained of knee pain. She was diagnosed with patellar subluxation (partial dislocation) and instability in the left knee. Surgery was recommended for January 2009 and was performed on July 29, 2009.

Three weeks later, on Aug. 19, 2009, Freeman died from a pulmonary embolism caused by a deep vein thrombosis resulting from the knee surgery. No medical negligence was alleged in the lawsuit filed by her family. 

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Leona and Perry Smith were the co-guardians of the person, but not of the estate, of a profoundly disabled son, Perry Powell. A medical malpractice case was first initiated by Leona Smith related to the death of her husband, Perry Smith, which ended because of alleged legal malpractice. The issue in this appellate court case was whether an attorney-client relationship with Perry Powell, the disabled son of the decedent, was available. 

The legal malpractice case was brought in the name of a public guardian and was later dismissed. At the trial court level, the judge concluded that the lawyers hired by Leona owed no duty to Perry Powell, the disabled son of the decedent.

In reversing, the appellate court said, “An attorney litigates a wrongful-death action for the exclusive benefit of the next-of-kin and owes that party a duty even though the next-of-kin did not execute a retainer agreement with the attorneys.”

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There are more than 3,000 active Actos bladder lawsuits pending nationwide.In one of the first to go to trial, a jury returned a $6.5 million verdict against Takeda Pharmaceuticals American, Inc., the company that makes and markets the diabetes drug, Actos.  The plaintiff in this case developed bladder cancer after being prescribed Actos for his diabetes.

The jury found that Takeda chose not to warn patients and physicians of the risks associated with using Actos. The jury’s verdict of $6.5 million was made up of the following damages: $5 million to the plaintiff and $1.5 million to his wife for loss of consortium.

The plaintiff was prescribed Actos for his diabetes by his family physician. The plaintiff took Actos for more than 4 years before developing bladder cancer in 2011. The presiding judge ordered that this case go to trial when it was found that the plaintiff was very ill and not likely to survive even another year. The trial, which started in February, lasted nearly 2 months. 

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George Harris was a passenger seated in the rear third row of a 2004 Chevy Ventura van when he was returning home from work at Union Pacific Railroad with five others in his carpool. It was July 10, 2009, — a Friday during evening rush hour — and the van was traveling southbound on the Dan Ryan Expressway (Interstate 90/94) in the local lanes just north of 63rd Street. The van came to a standstill in traffic. 

At about 4:36 p.m., just before the split with the Skyway entrance, the van was in the third lane from the left.  The two left lanes were for entering the Skyway entrance, 1,200 feet ahead. 

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In this case the parties fought over the insurance policies arising out of the wrongful death of Daniel Zacha, an employee of S&S Service Co. Mr. Zacha was driving a tractor-trailer owned by Coca-Cola Enterprises back to the S&S garage for repairs; in the process, he caused a head-on crash with the driver of a minivan, which resulted in that driver’s death.

Under the Illinois Vehicle Code, insurance companies are generally required to extend protection under liability policies to persons who are driving insured vehicles with express or implied permission of the owners.

The Illinois Supreme Court explained the statutory requirement of the Illinois Vehicle Code naming it “omnibus coverage,” which means “primary liability is generally placed on the insurer of the owner of an automobile rather than on the insurer of the operator” – unless a statutory exception applies.

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Robin R. Foreman v. Gunite Corporation, 2012 IL App. (1st) 091644U.

Robin Foreman was a truck driver employed by Distribution Services, Inc. (DSI). He had a regular truck route transferring material from Gunite Corporation‘s Illinois facility to its Indiana location.

Foreman was traveling eastbound on I-290 near its intersection with the Tri-State Tollway when the load in his trailer shifted, causing the truck to roll over.

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The Illinois Appellate Court reviewed the personal injury lawsuit of Anderson v. Anderson, 2011 Ill.App. (1st) 10034 (Sept. 30, 2011), to determine whether or not the trial judge had correctly ordered a new trial. After reviewing the case facts and the jury’s decision, the appellate court disagreed with the trial judge and reversed his order for a new trial. As a result, the not guilty verdict entered against the two defendants in Anderson stands.

Anderson arose out of a two-vehicle collision between a mini-van driven by defendant Sean Anderson and a vehicle driven by defendant Frank Fratto. The personal injury claim was filed by the six passengers in Anderson’s van at the time of the car accident and was brought against both of the drivers involved in the intersection accident. The personal injury claim alleged that both Anderson and Fratto were at fault for the auto crash and therefore were both responsible for the plaintiffs’ injuries.

However, the Illinois jury found in favor of both defendants and failed to find either at fault for the intersection accident. Rather than letting this verdict stand, the trial judge ruled that the verdict was invalid and granted a new trial. When defending his ruling, the judge stated that “the jury’s finding that neither was negligent given the facts of this case is unreasonable and against the manifest weight of the evidence. The jury had the discretion of apportioning the fault between the two parties, but a wash of liability is not an option when the injured is not an active participant in the cause of the incident.”

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A Cook County hospital infection decision by the Illinois Appellate Court clarifies what types of medical records are discoverable. The court ruled in Joseph Zangara and Wayne Dziamara v. Advocate Christ Medical Center, Paul Gordon, et al., Nos. 1-09-1911 and 1-09-1914, that the defendant hospital was required to produce records documenting the number of MRSA infections at the hospital for a three month period.
The Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit involved two consolidated MRSA lawsuits filed against Advocate Christ Medical Center. Joseph Zangara and Zigmund Dziamara were both hospitalized at Christ Medical Center during the same time period in 2005. Both Zangara and Dziamara acquired MRSA, or methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas, during their admissions; however, Zangara survived the infection, while Dziamara did not. Both Zangara and the estate representing Dziamara filed civil lawsuits against Christ Medical Center that accused the Oak Lawn hospital of negligent management regarding its infection control procedures.

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