An Illinois jury awarded $1.7 million to the surviving family members of a man who was hit by a semi-tractor trailer; Estate of Edward Kolodzik v. Cesar Castillo, VBD Transport, Inc., MLP Transport, Inc., No. 04 L 3715. While the decedent, Edward Kolodzik, survived the crash, he died five years…
A Cook County jury entered a $600,000 verdict in the auto accident lawsuit of Joseph Barbin v. United Parcel Service Inc. and Jorge D. Hernandez, No. 07 L 12572. While it is not unusual for a court to rule in favor of the plaintiff in a rear-end accident, what is…
The Winnebago County personal injury lawsuit of Candice Martlett and Jonathan Martlett, a minor v. Jennifer Fuller, 09 L 68, is yet another example of a defendant driver admitting liability for a car accident, but denying the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries. However, despite the defendant driver’s denial of the…
Most car accidents are fender-benders, i.e., they result in some property damage to the vehicle and fairly mild injuries to passengers. This is because many accidents take place at slower speeds, e.g., when a vehicle is slowing down, or speeding up from a stop. However, the faster a car is…
In law, if you don’t agree with a lower court’s ruling, you have the option of appealing your case to a higher court. However, just because you file an appeal does not mean you will be happy with the outcome. In the product liability lawsuit of David Show, et al.…
An Illinois Supreme Court ruling in a product liability lawsuit confirms that manufacturers are not required to guard against every risk to the consumer. The verdict in Dora Mae Jablonski v. Ford Motor Company, No. 110096, reversed a $43 million judgment in a 5-0 vote. Jablonski was filed as a…
In auto accident lawsuits, it is somewhat common for the defendant driver to admit liability, but still dispute the extent of the plaintiff’s injuries. However, somewhat less typical is for the defendant driver to dispute the degree to which surviving family members suffer in the event that the plaintiff driver…
While a Cook County jury awarded almost $3 million to a bicyclist hit by a dump truck, the verdict was reduced by 50% for what the jury found to be the bicyclist’s responsibility in her own accident. This bicycle-auto accident verdict suggests that even though bicyclists are more vulnerable than…
It is relatively rare for a car accident lawsuit with no eyewitnesses to go all the way to trial if neither party admits liability, mainly because it runs the risk of turning into a he said, she said type of scenario. Yet the Illinois bike accident lawsuit of Eric M.…
As the temperatures begin to cool in Chicago, every Illinoisan is aware that winter is just a few short months away. And with midwest winters come more dangerous driving conditions, e.g., icy roads, slick snow, and dangerously low temperatures. The Illinois personal injury lawsuit of Ponto v. Levan arose out…