In most rear-end accident lawsuits, the jury finds in favor of the driver who rear ends the other car. In most of these car accident cases, there might be some explanation for why the first car stopped and the expectation is that the second driver should be aware and stop in time to avoid an accident. However, in the Kane County lawsuit of Diane Flynn v. Soula Galanis, 10 L 49, the jury found that the first driver was primarily at fault.
The relevant car accident in Flynn occurred near the intersection of Route 47 and Freeman Road in Huntley, Illinois. The defendant in the personal injury lawsuit, Soula Galanis, allegedly cut in front of a line of traffic driving on Route 47 and then stopped suddenly in the left-hand lane. The car behind Galanis was unable to stop in time and ended up rear-ended Galanis’s vehicle. Diane Flynn, the plaintiff in the personal injury claim, then rear-ended the second vehicle.
Flynn filed a personal injury claim against Galanis that alleged that Galanis’s negligence caused the chain reaction car crash. Flynn sought to recover damages for her medical treatment, loss of normal life, and pain and suffering that she endured as a result of the car accident. Following the multi-car accident, Flynn was taken to the emergency room to treat her whiplash injury. In addition, Flynn made several visits to her doctor and underwent physical therapy treatment in an attempt to relieve her muscle pain. And while her medical treatment ended years before the personal injury trial, Flynn’s physician testified that she would continue to have intermittent pain for the rest of her life due to the permanent injuries to her muscle fibers caused by the car accident.