An Illinois personal injury lawsuit recently received a jury verdict of $4 million; the case involved an Illinois highway accident that left both the defendant truck driver and a little girl dead. The verdict was against a truck driver, Wayne Garfoot, and his trucking company, Garfoot Trucking, Inc. in The Estate of Santos v. Garfoot Trucking, Inc..
In January, 2005, Richard Santos was driving on Interstate 90 with his two-year old daughter, Amanda, in the passenger seat. The Santos’ vehicle was approaching an Illinois toll plaza when it was rear-ended by the defendant, Wayne Garfoot, who was driving a tractor-trailer truck. The truck drove over the car, crushing and killing two-year old Amanda. Garfoot also died as a result of the Illinois truck accident.
Amanda’s estate alleged that the defendant truck driver was driving too fast for conditions and did not maintain a safe speed as he was approaching the Illinois toll plaza. Because the defendant truck driver had died in the Illinois truck accident, an Illinois state trooper was called to testify as an accident reconstruction expert at the trial.
The state trooper testified that his investigation indicated that Garfoot was in fact driving too fast for the conditions and was the cause of the Illinois truck crash, which supported the estate’s claims. However, the defense maintained that Santos had suddenly stopped his car and pulled into the toll plaza’s far right lane, which required Garfoot to swerve in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid Santo’s vehicle.
The jury deliberated for less than one hour and came back with a verdict for $4 million against both the truck company, Garfoot Trucking, Inc. and its driver, Wayne Garfoot, who was acting as its agent. Two other co-defendants had settled with the plaintiff’s estate before trial and thus the verdict would be set off by a reported $1,270,000.
Kreisman Law Offices has been handling Illinois truck accidents and Illinois car crashes for more than 35 years in Chicago, Cook County and surrounding areas including, Winfield, Aurora, Waukegan, Oak Forest, and Park Ridge.
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