Articles Posted in Auto Accidents

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The lawsuit brought by Patricia Emrickson against Fernando Morfin was dismissed with prejudice because Ms. Emrickson’s attorney relied on an online search service that had inaccurate information about the current address for the defendant, Mr. Morfin. Under Illinois Supreme Court Rule 103(b), a suing plaintiff has a duty to use reasonable diligence in serving a defendant with the complaint.

In this case, the lawsuit was filed by Ms. Emrickson just a short time before the two-year statute of limitations had run out. Although the lawsuit was filed in a timely fashion, Mr. Morfin was not served immediately with the complaint, which alleged that Ms. Emrickson was injured in a car accident. It took 13 months before Mr. Morfin was finally served with a summons.

According to the Illinois Appellate Court, Ms. Emrickson chose not to use reasonable diligence in having Mr. Morfin served before the statute of limitations expired, opening the way for Mr. Morfin to dismiss the case with prejudice under Rule 103(b).

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A Cook County jury has found in favor of an injured driver whose car was rear-ended at a traffic light on eastbound Liberty Street at Route 59 in Aurora, Ill. The crash took place on Jan. 23, 2008 when the 19-year-old defendant failed to stop his vehicle and rear-ended the car driven by the plaintiff, Mr. Castillo. Although there was very little damage to the cars, Mr. Castillo, 38, was taken to the emergency room at Rush Copley Medical Center in Aurora. He was released after x-rays were shown to be negative.

Mr. Castillo sustained neck pain and low back pain and received no medical treatment since 2008. He missed three months of work as a bricklayer totaling a claimed amount of $33,000 in lost pay.

However, at the time of the crash, the plaintiff was unemployed. He received a job offer after the crash, but was unable to accept it due to his injuries from this crash. The wage loss claim was based on the job he was forced to refuse.

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Peter Nowak, 54, was stopped at a red light on eastbound Lake-Cook Road in Palatine, Ill., on April 14, 2010 when Nowak’s car was rear-ended by defendant Ball. Nowak’s testimony was that he never saw the Ball vehicle prior to the crash.

Nowak contended in his lawsuit that the impact from the crash aggravated a previously asymptomatic bulging disc at C5-6. The crash caused Nowak to experience cervical radiculopathy, which is described as neck pain that may radiate into the shoulder and arm. Nowak also claimed loss of range of motion and a cervical facet syndrome, which required two injections and possibly a future surgery. Cervical facet syndrome is a common cause of neck pain. This occurs when the joints of the neck become inflamed. The facet joints are located between the disc and the vertebrae in front of the boney bumps that can be felt on the back the neck.

In addition, Nowak claimed that he had developed severe pain from the neck injury, suffered from depression, anxiety, insomnia, nightmares and post-traumatic stress disorder.

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A Will County, Illinois, jury verdict has been reversed by the Illinois Appellate Court for the Third District. In this case, Yvonne Johnson was injured in a Casey’s General Store parking lot when she was struck by a vehicle operated by the defendant, Charles Bailey. At the Bailey deposition, photographs of the parking lot taken by Mr. Bailey were introduced. He had taken the photos using his own vehicle and that of his fiancé’s as props.

At the Johnson deposition, she testified that she had injured her neck, head, shoulders and back in a 2005 fall unrelated to this incident. From that time on, she continued to see a chiropractor who completed her treatment, but he continued to treat her after she was injured in this accident.

Prior to the beginning of the jury trial, Johnson filed a motion seeking an order precluding the photographs of the parking lot outside the Casey’s General Store. Johnson argued that Bailey had not laid a proper foundation for them in his deposition and that they should not be used at trial without laying a proper foundation.

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A Cook County jury has found that FedEx was not responsible for injuries to Cesar Fernandez on June 13, 2009 when the car he was driving was rear-ended by a FedEx truck. Fernandez was stopped at a red light on Cicero Avenue at 31st Street when his car was rear-ended by a FedEx delivery truck.

The speed of the FedEx truck was disputed, but may have been between 5 mph to 30 mph. The driver of the truck did not testify at trial.

Fernandez, 45, complained of neck and back pain at the scene and was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital where he was treated and released with a diagnosis of lumbar and cervical strain.

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Kurt Henriksen was driving westbound on Eagle Lake Road in Peotone, Ill., when a postal worker was driving northbound on 104th Street and pulled out from a stop sign directly in front of his vehicle. Henriksen had the right of way; a high-impact collision occurred involving the two cars.

The rural route postal carrier was delivering mail in her own car. Before the crash, Henriksen, 53, had a long history of low back and leg pain following a low back fusion. He had been treating with a pain management physician for over 12 years and managed his pain with medicine.

Following this crash, Henriksen developed increased back pain, increased left leg pain and pain radiating into his right leg and foot.

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Margaret Waimon, 84, was driving northbound on Interstate 294 when she rear-ended a vehicle in front of her. The Oct, 6, 2007 crash pushed that car into the rear of the car in front of it where the plaintiff, Jennifer Stadelmann, was a passenger. Stadelmann, 32, suffered a neck injury that required physical therapy.

The defendant driver passed away from unrelated causes before the trial. Defendant admitted negligence but denied the nature and extent of Stadelmann’s claimed injuries that led to this trial. Stadelmann had soft tissue neck injuries and physical therapy bills. At the jury trial, the defendant argued that Stadelmann’s injuries healed in 6-8 weeks following the crash and that $25,182 in physical therapy bills were not related to the crash. The jury disagreed.

The Cook County jury’s verdict of $93,182 was made up of the following damages:
• $25,182 for medical expenses;
• $40,000 for pain and suffering;
• $28,000 for loss of normal life.

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Jackie Fuentes was driving northbound in 2006 on East 15th Road in Wallace Township, LaSalle County, while defendant Amanda Dovin was traveling westbound on North 31st Road. East 15th was a through street at this intersection, while North 31st had stop signs for east and westbound traffic.

Defendant Dovin stopped at the stop sign before making a left turn onto southbound East 15th and crashed into Fuentes’ car. The impact forced Fuentes’ car into a ditch on the west side of East 15th Road.

Fuentes, 24, was taken to the local hospital’s emergency room, where she was diagnosed with a cervical strain, abdominal pain and a chest bruise. All of the tests conducted there were within normal limits except for an x-ray of her spine, which showed reversal of lordosis, a change in curve of the neck, caused by soft tissue swelling in her neck.

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In September 2008, Robert Jones, a delivery man bringing pizza dough to the Pizza Hut restaurant in South Elgin, Ill., was hit by a Pizza Hut employee. Mr. Jones was delivering pizza dough on a loaded dolly through the parking lot heading toward the restaurant’s back door when he was hit by Bibiana Bojorge, who was on her way to deliver a pizza.

Jones, 41, sustained a leg fracture that required surgery. He also will require a knee replacement surgery in the future.

The defendant argued at the trial that Mr. Jones had pizza dough stacked up too high on his dolly, so he was not able to see in front of him. The defendant contended that Mr. Jones ran into the car driven by the 19-year-old pizza delivery driver.

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Jose Gutierrez was driving southbound on Route 23 near Fossee Road in Ottawa, Ill., when his vehicle was hit by the front of the car driven northbound by defendant Palochko. Palochko’s vehicle crossed the center line and crashed into the front of the Gutierrez car. The crash took place on Dec. 23, 2008 in the middle of a snow storm.

Another southbound car traveling right behind the Gutierrez vehicle swerved into the northbound lane after the crash. That car, driven by David Reese, struck the front passenger side panel of Palochko’s car.

Gutierrez, 24, suffered a fractured sternum. Defendant Palochko argued that his car slid on the snow-covered roadway when he hit his brakes. He said he tried to straighten out his vehicle, but he spun into the southbound lane. Palochko is now disabled because of this crash.

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