Articles Posted in Auto Accidents

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The Illinois Appellate Court has found no abuse of discretion where the factors were not delineated in an order when a Cook County judge dismissed a case because of forum non conveniens.

In this case, on Oct. 24, 2013, in Belvidere, Ill., there was a crash involving a car driven by Kenneth Kazort and a garbage truck driven by an operator from Advanced Disposal Services Solid Waste LLC. The garbage truck driver was John Padgett. Padgett was alleged to have backed into a driveway in order to turn around and move on to the next resident. When the garbage truck pulled out, Kazort, who was out of view, was blocked by “numerous large trees, a recreational vehicle, vegetation and other foliage.”

As the garbage truck pulled out into the street, Kazort’s car and the truck crashed into each other, killing Kazort. Malinda Ruch was appointed administrator of the Kazort estate and filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County claiming negligence on the part of Padgett and on his employer Advanced Disposal.

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On July 26, 2011, Lashaunda Carter was driving her car when she was involved in a crash with an uninsured motorist, Cortez Williams. Jasmine Carter was in Carter’s car and was injured as a result of the collision. Lashaunda was insured by American Access Insurance Co. Lashaunda’s insurance policy covered any compensatory damages Lashaunda would have to pay arising from bodily injury caused by her in an auto accident.

Under the terms of the insurance policy, American Access “shall defend any civil suit alleging such bodily injury.” The auto policy also required Lashaunda to give American Access written notice of any accident or loss as well as any filings in a lawsuit brought against her.

The policy stated that American Access would “not be obligated to pay . . . unless [American Access] received actual notice of a lawsuit before judgment had been entered in said suit.”

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On June 9, 2011, Giuseppina DiFranco, 50, was driving eastbound on Army Trail Road in Bloomingdale, Ill. DiFranco was rear-ended by defendant Constance Kusar whose car was then pushed into the vehicle in front of her car.

DiFranco, an administrative assistant, claimed that the collision caused her cervical radiculitis, thoracic outlet syndrome and soft tissue injuries to her neck, back, right arm and right knee. She claimed to have expended $29,111 in medical expenses.

The defendant, Kusar, stipulated to negligence but denied that the plaintiff, DiFranco, was injured or that she was injured to the extent that she claimed.

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Gwendolyn Abasta was driving to an intersection when the traffic light turned yellow. Jose Alvarado was traveling in the opposite direction and turned left in front of Abasta’s car, which resulted in their collision.

Abasta struck her right knee against the dashboard and was thrown into the air bag. Abasta required emergency knee surgery and was treated for disk herniations, broken ribs and other injuries. She required four additional knee surgeries over the following three years plus epidural spinal injections. Her medical expenses alone were $460,000.

Abasta filed a lawsuit against Texas Automobile Leasing Inc. claiming that Alvarado was driving in the scope of his employment when this crash occurred. Therefore, Abasta sued the employer of the driver, claiming that employment relationship and agency. The defendant argued that the plaintiff ran a red light that caused the crash. Before trial, the parties settled the case for $1,750,000.

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On Oct. 30, 2009, Filberto Meza, 37, was traveling eastbound on 25th Street at Central in Cicero, Ill., when his car crashed into the rear end of a stopped motor vehicle.  Juan Magana and Raquel Magana were driver and passenger in that car.  Juan Magana, 27, a custodian, suffered aggravation of a pre-existing herniated disc at L5-S1, his low back and sacrum.  He had been receiving treatment for that herniation during the previous year. He had undergone physical therapy and was scheduled to be discharged from care after his next scheduled appointment three days later.

Because of this crash, Juan returned to “square one,” which required additional medical treatments including injections.  Juan’s wife, Raquel, suffered soft tissue injuries in the crash.

The defendant, Meza, admitted that he was negligent, but maintained that both Juan and Raquel were not injured to the extent that they claimed.  At the close of evidence, the jury deliberated for two hours before reaching a verdict of $14,809.  $10,947 was the verdict for Juan made up of the following damages:

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On Dec. 15, 2000, Patrick Broderick was driving southbound on Schoolhouse Road when icy conditions caused him to lose control of his car.  His vehicle came to a rest on a snow bank on the east side of the road.  A good Samaritan stopped at the scene to help Broderick, parking his car in the northbound lane of traffic.  Supposedly, the good Samaritan’s hazard lights were on and working, but that fact was disputed.

Caroline Semanic was traveling northbound on Schoolhouse Road when she approached the scene.  Semanic said she saw no flashing headlights on the good Samaritan’s vehicle and testified under oath that she saw only tail lights that she thought were attached to a moving vehicle.  Semanic’s car slid into the good Samaritan’s car while attempting to avoid crashing into that parked car, pushing the vehicle into the plaintiff Broderick, who was standing in the roadway with his back to northbound traffic.

Broderick maintained that the force of the impact caused him to be thrown 75 feet.  The thrust of the impact resulted in a closed head injury, mild traumatic brain injury and soft tissue neck injury.  Broderick claimed that he now has impaired cognitive function, loss of prior math skills, inability to concentrate, memory deficits, altered personality, word-finding difficulties, post-traumatic stress disorder, inability to follow directions, chronic insomnia, increased flare ups of temper, headaches, neck pain and depression. He is currently working as a fraud analyst.

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Nasrath Sawa-Malik, 52, was driving northbound on Interstate 55 (Stevenson Expressway) on June 18, 2010 when her car was rear-ended by a car driven by the defendant, Terry Cornwell, which struck Sawa-Malik’s car at a high rate of speed.  The impact caused Sawa-Malik to crash into the vehicle ahead of her.

The plaintiff sustained soft tissue injury to her neck and back.  She underwent injections recommended for pain.  Sawa-Malik maintained that before this car crash and her injuries, she accepted a contract to work as an Arabic interpreter for a U.S. defense contractor at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.  Sawa-Malik said she was about to start the new job at the time of the crash but was unable to do so because of her injuries.

Cornwell admitted liability, but argued that Sawa-Malik could not prove her lost income for the translator job that she had never started.  Cornwell did not attend the trial.

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The defendant Adolyne Dolmer was driving northbound on I-394 in Sauk Village, Ill., when she ran the red light at Sauk Trail Road and T-boned the eastbound car of Megan and Todd Bishop. The Bishops are husband and wife.  The impact was on the passenger side of the Bishop car.

The Bishops alleged in their lawsuit that the crash was heavy, that it spun their car almost 360 degrees and totaled their vehicle. Megan, age 34, was in the front passenger seat and suffered injuries to her cervical facet joints in her neck with accompanying headaches and radiating symptoms down her left arm. She  claimed permanency for the remainder of her life expectancy of 41.9 years. She was treated with 14 injections and 2 radiofrequency neurotomy procedures, designed to kill the nerves in the cervical facets. She also underwent physical therapy and pain medicine. 

Todd Bishop, who was driving, claimed loss of consortium for his wife’s injuries and no other damages.

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A Cook County, Ill.,  jury has found that the Double Tree Hotel Chicago was not negligent when its hotel shuttle bus improperly transported the plaintiff, Mary Larkin, to the upper level terminal at O’Hare Airport by dropping her off on an expansion joint in the roadway, which was unsafe. As a result, Larkin fell and sustained a trimalleolar fracture of the right ankle, which required open reduction internal fixation surgery followed by a second procedure to remove some of the hardware.

The hotel asserted that Larkin failed to watch where she was walking. She had filed an earlier claim against the City of Chicago, which settled with her for $55,000.

The jury in this case, however, sided with Double Tree Hotel Chicago and found it not negligent or a cause of Larkin’s injuries.

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On Sept. 2, 2007, Susan Soine, age 42, was driving her car northbound on Route 41 in Highland Park, Ill., when she was hit by a car driven by the defendant, Marian Kinzinger, at Clavey Road. Soine alleged in her lawsuit that Kinzinger chose not to properly merge into the highway from the Clavey entrance ramp and instead crossed over the solid white lines and clipped the front of a semi-truck and then veered into the left lane and hit the plaintiff’s front passenger door. 

Kinzinger’s pick-up truck then rolled over and hit the rear of the Soine car shattering her rear window. Soine was injured.  She sustained a C5-6 neck injury, which required fusion surgery two months after the crash. 

At the end of the trial, Soine’s counsel moved the court for a directed verdict, which was granted. The directed verdict dealt with only the negligence of Kinzinger. The jury determined the amount of damages.

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