by Brett KruckmeyerWinnebago Co. Motorcycle Suit Settles for $6M
BY JOHN FLYNN ROONEY Law Bulletin staff writer
A woman who suffered a serious brain injury after being ejected from a motorcycle driven by her husband will receive $6 million in a settlement that stems from a tactical decision to sue her husband instead of his employer.
On May 20, 2012, Lori Hepner was riding as a passenger on the motorcycle operated by her husband, James H. Hepner Jr.
At that time, James was the sales manager for House of Harley-Davidson in Milwaukee and was riding a 2012 Harley-Davidson Ultra Classic owned by the dealership.
The couple were participating in the Little Angels Pledge Run of Illinois, an event sponsored by a McHenry County Harley-Davidson dealership.
While driving along Collins Road in McHenry County, James, who over the past two decades only drove a motorcycle a couple of times a year, drifted off the road.The motorcycle went into a ditch, which he tried to ride out of at 55 mph.
When he struck an embankment near the driveway of a farm field, the motorcycle went airborne and landed 45 feet away.
Lori, who was wearing a helmet, was ejected and landed face first on the shoulder of a two-lane road. James was also ejected and suffered orthopedic injuries, including a broken arm.
Other motorcyclists participating in the charity event stopped and provided first aid to Lori. She was airlifted to OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center in Rockford, where she was initially treated for injuries including bleeding on her brain, fractures on the left side of her face, spinal fractures and a broken left wrist.
The bleeding on her brain caused a traumatic brain injury. Now 56, she can’t work, handle family finances or drive, said Christopher M. Norem, a partner at Parente & Norem P.C. who represents Lori along with his law partner, Joseph D. Parente.
A lawsuit was filed on Lori’s behalf in July 2012 in Winnebago County Circuit Court against her husband. His mother, Theresa, who lives near the couple, is guardian of Lori’s estate.
The complaint alleged that her husband operated the motorcycle negligently and failed to slow down before they were thrown off the bike.
James was insured under two House of Harley policies.
The couple still lives together in Grafton, Wis., about 20 miles north of Milwaukee. James, who hasn’t worked for the dealership since the accident, is his wife’s primary caregiver.
Parente and Norem decided not to name House of Harley in the lawsuit because they believed the dealership would have the case removed to Milwaukee, the city where Harley-Davidson was founded and a place where a dealership would be a popular and well-liked defendant, Norem said.
“It was a tactical decision, and it worked out,” he said.
The lawsuit was filed in Winnebago County, which includes Rockford, rather than McHenry County because Norem’s jury verdict research showed jurors there would give Hepner a fair valuation for her injuries, he said.
West Bend Mutual Insurance Co., an insurer for House of Harley and James Hepner, retained legal counsel to defend him. It asserted that a gust of wind pushed him off the road and that the accident was not his fault.
The settlement, which will be paid by West Bend, was reached at a mediation session last month with Dennis J. Burke of ADR Systems of America LLC.
The money will be used to renovate the couple’s home to make it accessible and to pay for care for Lori. An attendant will help her shower, do laundry and complete other household tasks.
If the accident occurred before 1988, a lawsuit would have been barred under the previous version of Illinois’ interspousal immunity statute. But the legislature amended that law to allow claims like this one.
“Now this family will have the resources Lori needs to be taken care of for the rest of her life instead of being driven into bankruptcy,” he said.
Bradford S. Purcell, a partner at Purcell & Wardrope Chtd., represented West Bend and James Hepner. He could not be reached for comment.
The case is Theresa “Tess” Hepner, etc. v. James H. Hepner Jr., No. 12 L 205.
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CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM // In the News
Volume 161, No. 52 // TUESDAY, MARCH 17, 2015
by Brett KruckmeyerBrain-damage suit settles for $10.5M
BY MARC KARLINSKY Law Bulletin staff writer
Three days into a trial, Loyola University Medical Center agreed to a $10.5 million settle- ment with a man who suffered brain damage as a boy following leg surgery.
The agreement Wednesday came after a Cook County judge barred testimony from one of the hospital’s experts, the man’s lawyer said.
The lawsuit stemmed from events beginning in May 2005, when 12-year-old Henry Craig went to the hospital for surgery on both of his femurs. Christo- pher M. Norem, a partner at Parente & Norem P.C., who represented Craig, said the boy was hit by a car while on his bike, breaking both of the bones.
The long orthopedic surgery to fix his femurs required Craig to remain under a general anes- thetic for 10 hours.
The surgery went fine, Norem said. But after the surgery, doctors had trouble measuring the boy’s oxygen saturation levels due to the constriction of blood vessels after a long surgery. “Because of his body, the machine couldn’t read it,” Norem said.
The anesthesiologist removed the breathing tube and respi- rator once vital signs reached certain levels but before Craig was visibly alert and awake, Norem said.
“One of our biggest contentions in this case was, you have to treat the patient, not the numbers,” he said.
After the operation, Craig was transferred to the hospital’s post- anesthesia care unit, where doctors again had difficulty reading his oxygen levels.
The boy’s breathing became weaker and he was showing signs of a lack of oxygen, Norem said. The doctors were looking for another cable or finger clip to obtain the oxygen reading but did not reinsert the breathing tube in the meantime.
“You can’t assume they’re breathing,” Norem said.
To treat the boy’s post- operation shivering, a resident then provided him two doses Demerol, which created a respi- ratory-depressant effect that sent Craig into a coma for several weeks.
Doctors reintubated Craig 25 minutes after first removing the tube.
The complaint, first filed in August 2009 by Craig’s mother, alleged he suffered permanent brain damage from oxygen loss. Today, at age 22, Craig has limited motor control and requires assistance with daily activities. The settlement will help make Craig’s home wheel- chair-accessible and provide for attendant care.
“It’s a number that clearly will care for him at the level he needs for the rest of life,” Norem said.
Craig was also represented by Timothy D. Quinn, an associate at Parente & Norem P.C.
Loyola was represented by William F. Cunningham and Scott A. Herbert of Cunningham, Meyer & Vedrine P.C. They could not be reached for comment.
Circuit Judge Irwin J. Solganick approved the settle- ment in the case, Henry Craig v. Loyola University Medical Center, No. 09 L 10101.
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CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM // In the News
Volume 160, No. 135 // THURSDAY, JULY 10, 2014
by Brett KruckmeyerBroken-ankle case settles for $2.95M
BY JOHN FLYNN ROONEY
Law Bulletin staff writer
A Chicago man who suffered a severely broken ankle in a vehicle accident has received a $2.95 million settlement. On Aug. 22, 2012, Andreas Bakopoulos was driving his Mitsubishi Eclipse near 4350 W. Ohio St. He was on a lunch break from his job as a mechanic for the Union Pacific Railroad.
At the same time, Scott Lee Ridenour, an employee of Grand Warehouse and Distribution Corp., was driving a Ford cargo van owned by the company east on Ohio Street. Ridenour made a left turn and collided with Bakopoulos’ car, the lawsuit alleges.
As a result of the accident, Bakopoulos’ right leg became wedged underneath the car’s dashboard resulting in a severely broken right ankle, said his attorney, Christopher M.
Norem, a partner at Parente & Norem P.C. Bakopoulos, 38, later underwent two surgeries on his ankle. His medical bills were $144,000. A lawyer for Grand Warehouse asserted that Bakopoulos was speeding and talking on his cellphone when the accident occurred. Bakopoulos denied those allegations.
At the time of the accident, Bakopoulos was assigned to light duty at work because of a previous back injury suffered on the job that was unrelated to the vehicle accident. Due to his back injury, Bakopoulos had spinal fusion surgery in May and is unable to work for the railroad, Norem said.Grand Warehouse’s lawyer disputed that Bakopoulos lost any wages from the accident because the unrelated spinal fusion surgery prevented him from working. The lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court in 2012 alleges that Ridenour, as an agent of Grand Warehouse, negligently operated the van, turned into the left side of Bakopoulos’ vehicle when it was unsafe to do so and failed to yield the right of way. Bakopoulos is the divorced father of two young children. His injury prevents him from running around with his children, and he experiences difficulty walking on stairs and when entering and exiting vehicles, Norem said. Bakopoulos plans to invest the money from the settlement and live on the income provided by the investments, Norem said.
“It’s unlikely that he will return to an occupation with the wage earning power he had previously,” Norem said. The settlement “recognizes that something that sounds so innocuous, a broken ankle, can lead to changes in someone’s life that merit a $2.95 million settle- ment,” Norem said. Norem’s law firm partner, Joseph D. Parente, also repre- sented Bakopoulos.
The Hanover Insurance Group, the insurer for the defen- dants, paid the settlement money to Bakopoulos and his lawyers on Tuesday. The case is Andreas Bakopoulos v. Grand Warehouse Distribution Corp. and Scott Lee Ridenour, No. 2012 L 011551.
The defendants were repre-sented by Ronald R. Aeschliman, an associate at the Law Offices of Loretta M. Griffin. He couldn’t be reached for comment. Griffin declined to comment. The settlement resulted from a daylong mediation session last week with John A. Ward, a retired Cook County circuit judge.
by Brett KruckmeyerJury awards $2.4M for back injuries from truck crash
BY JENN BALLARD
Law Bulletin staff writer
A Cook County jury awarded $2.4 million to a man who suffered back injuries when his parked truck was hit by a semitrailer truck.
Clanton Pitchford slept at a truck stop in Tuscon, Ariz., in 2006 when a Knight Transportation Inc. truck, traveling at about 5 mph, struck the left corner of his vehicle.
Pitchford, then 59, was tossed around in a raised bed behind the driver’s seat, but he did not fall out. The accident caused him to suffer lower back pain, which he did not have prior to the accident, the suit alleged.
Pitchford went to an emergency room five hours later and was diagnosed with a lumbar strain.
When he returned to Chicago a month later, the suit alleged, Pitchford visited a spinal surgeon who diagnosed him with an aggravation of asymptomatic degenerative
spondylolisthesis — in which one vertebra slips over the one below it — of his third and fourth vertebrae.
The surgeon also diagnosed him with stenosis — a narrowing of the spinal column — between his fourth and fifth vertebrae, the suit alleged.
In 2007, Pitchford received a lumbar fusion between his third and fourth vertebrae to stabilize his spine.
Two years later, Pitchford had a spine stimulator — which exerts electrical signals to the spinal cord to control chronic pain — placed in his lower back.
In 2011, he received a revision of his previous spinal fusion and a fourth and fifth vertebrae lumbar fusion.
Partner Christopher M. Norem and Associate Jordan W. LaClair of Parente & Norem P.C. represented Pitchford.
Norem said Pitchford had preexisting back conditions that didn’t require medical treatment, but the accident caused complications that led to the surgeries and
made him more susceptible to future injuries.
“This 59-year-old had conditions on his MRI and CT scans that we conceded existed in his body for years,” Norem said.
“But the issue was, ‘When did it become symptomatic?’ And we contended that was after this event.”
The defendant offered $350,000 to settle the case, Norem said.
“The first surgery alone was about $118,000 in medical,” Norem said. “And from that point, he incurred another $500,000 in medical, which made a big difference in terms of the value.”
Shareholders Gregory D. Conforti and James E. Phelan of Johnson & Bell Ltd. represented Knight Transportation.
Conforti said he and Phelan started working on the case in December when the company changed its legal representation.
The defense attorneys plan to file a post-trial motion to address an issue of an expert not being allowed to testify in the case.
In addition, Conforti said, Pitchford was replaced as a plaintiff by a bankruptcy trustee after he filed for bankruptcy.
“Mr. Pitchford was allowed to be the named plaintiff to the jury and sit at counsel table,” Conforti said.
Because of the filed bankruptcy petition, Conforti said, Pitchford should have informed the creditors about the pending lawsuit.
“He did not disclose this claim in the initial (bankruptcy) filing and denied the existence of any lawsuits during the meeting of the creditors,” Conforti said.
“However, he had already retained counsel to represent his interests for this claim, and five days before the meeting of the creditors, he signed a mortgage foreclosure document, stating he had a pending lawsuit against Knight Transportation.”
Cook County Associate Judge Michael R. Panter presided over the trial, which ended with a verdict on Feb. 20.
The case is Clayton Pitchford, et al. v. Knight Transportation Inc., et al., No. 08 L 8670.
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CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM // In the News
Volume 159, No. 40 // WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013
by Brett KruckmeyerCompany settles death suit
Joliet asphalt maker to pay widow more than $3 million
By Janet Lundquist // Joliet Herald News // jlundquist@stmedianetwork.com
A Joliet asphalt manufacturer has agreed to dish out more than $3 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the widow of a Channahon man who died at the company’s plant in 2004.
Gallegher Materials Corp. agreed to pay most of the $4.45 million settlement, with $225,000 paid by the manufacturer of the bin, whose name remains confidential.
The settlement maybe a record high number for a male wrongful death lawsuit in Will County, said Chris Norem, Who represented Melissa Shelton in her case with his partner, Joseph D. Parente, and Joliet attorney Jeff Tomczak.
“(Melissa) wasn’t doing this for money, ” Norem said. “She wanted answers as to how and Why Jason died feel pretty strongly We obtained those answers.”
Her husband, Jason Shelton, 26, died just before Thanksgiving in 2004 after he suffocated in a bin of sand-like material at the plant.
“It was a very unfortunate accident,” said Michael Meyer, who represented Gallagher Materials with Mark Burgess. “We lost a very valuable employee. We Wish (his family) well. ”
Shelton, a Local 150 oiler, was working for Gallagher Asphalt Corp. at the company’s Brandon Road plant.
The night he died, Shelton was monitor ing the flow of sand through a bin that narrowed at the bottom. It was cold and snowy, and the sand was sticking together.
He last was seen standing on a catwalk above the bin and had radioed for someone to come out and hit the side of the bin to loosen the sand.
Several minutes later, he was discovered at the bottom of the bin.
The catwalk had a grate that was open at the time to allow the sand to flow into the bin, Norem said, and added that he believes Shelton likely fell through the open grate and into the bin.
“(Gallagher) contended he intentionally went into the bin to loosen the material. We contended all along he fell in, and once he got in there was no way to get out based on the configuration of the bin,” Norem said.
The removable grate was an Occupational Safety and Health Administration violation, he said.
Also, Norem said the bin would have been safer with a steel grate inside that would allow the sand to flow through but not large objects or people – a safety measure that has been recommended by the National Safety Council since the 1950’s.
Gallagher Materials disputed Shelton’s claims and denied liability as part of the settlement.
Under Illinois law, Melissa Shelton could not sue Gallagher Asphalt because her band was employed there, Norem said.
She could, however, sue Gallagher Materials, which manufactured and sold the asphalt.
by Brett KruckmeyerSettlement gives widow $3.15 million
BY MARY KATE MALONE Law Bulletin staff writer
An Illinois asphalt manufac- turer agreed to pay $3.15 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the widow of an oiler who died while working at a Joliet asphalt plant in 2004, her attorney said.
Approved by Will County Circuit Judge Michael J. Powers on Oct. 11, the settlement repre- sents the largest in Will County for an adult male in a wrongful death case, said John L. Kirkton, editor of the Jury Verdict Reporter, a division of Law Bulletin Publishing Co.
Jason Shelton, 26, died in November 2004 while working at Gallagher Asphalt Corp.’s plant when he suffocated inside a 30- foot bin of sandmaterial used to make asphalt, said Christopher M. Norem of Parente & Norem P.C., who represented Shelton’s then-wife, Melissa, with his partner, Joseph D. Parente.
Jeffery J. Tomczak of the Law Office of Jeff Tomczak in Joliet also represented Shelton’s widow.
“The point of the lawsuit from (Melissa Shelton’s) standpoint was not to see how much money she could get,” Norem said. “She wanted to find out what happened and have someone take responsi- bility.”
On the day of his death, Shelton’s duties included standing above the bin on a catwalk and monitoring the flow of the material through the bin, Norem said.
As the weather turned cold and snowy that day, the sand got stuck in the bin and no longer flowed out smoothly, Norem said. Another worker came over to hit the side of the bin to help the material properly, Norem said.
Several minutes later, workers found Shelton deep inside the bin and no longer breathing. He died of asphyxiation.
Melissa Shelton could not sue Gallagher Asphalt Corp. under Illinois law since it served as Jason Shelton’s employer, but she could file suit against Gallagher Materials Corp., the company that manufactured and sold the asphalt from the Joliet plant, Norem said.
Gallagher Materials Corp. agreedto pay the $3.15 million, but did not admit fault in the settle- ment, Norem said.
Michael J. Meyer, Mark C. Galasso and Patrick E. Burgess of Tribler, Orpett & Meyer P.C. in Chicago represented Gallagher Materials. They did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Both sides disputed how Shelton became trapped inside the bin — whether he fell in from the catwalk or voluntarily entered it to help break loose the sand material.
“We contended he would never do something that dangerous,” Norem said. “He likely fell in, and once he got into the bin, there was no way for him to get out.”
Jason Shelton served as a member of the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 150.
“When people hear of a construction accidents resultng in death, many times they think of a flagger being hit on the expressway during construction,” said Ed Maher, spokesman for Local 150. “But there are so many dangerous situations that construction workers put them- selves in every day. And this is one sad example.”
The case is Melissa Shelton as Special Administrator of the Estate of Jason Shelton, deceased, v. Gallagher Materials Corporation. No. 07 L 511.
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CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM // In the News
Volume 158, No. 209 // WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 24, 2012
by Brett KruckmeyerJail construction worker win settlement
By Brian Stanley // bstanley@stmedianetwork.com
CHICAGO – Two construction workers who were injured years ago when a floor collapsed at the Will County jail each will receive a $6 million settlement.
On Oct. 9, 2007, Ramiro Zavala and Joshua Comer had just started pouring concrete on the third-floor level of the jail expansion project when the steel deck they were standing on col- lapsed.
The two men fell more than 20 feet, along with some supports and concrete.
Zavala, then 36, of Joliet, suffered a fractured pelvis and underwent back surgery.
Comer, then 29, of Braidwood, suffered a broken femur and wrist, ankle and knee injuries. Neither man was able to return to work in the construction trades.
Zavala’s attorney Christopher Norem said the $70 million construction project was managed by a joint venture entity on behalf of the Will County Building Commission.
That joint venture, along with Harbour Contractors; Waukegan Steel Sales Inc., the deck supplier; and Cordeck Sales Inc. the deck installer, were sued in Cook County by Zavala in 2008 and Comer in 2009.
The expansion opened in May 2009 and roughly tripled the jail’s inmate capacity.
Zavala’s case was settled in April and the $6 million settlement was made public Monday when Comer’s case was settled for the same amount.
by Brett KruckmeyerTwo lawsuits from deck collapse yield $12 million
BY PAT MILHIZER // Law Bulletin staff writer
A deck collapse during a construction project to expand the Will County jail has yielded two equal settlements that total $12 million.
Ramiro Zavala and Joshua Comer worked for Lindblad Construction and poured concrete in October 2007. They stood on a steel deck that collapsed, causing them to fall about 20 feet.
Zavala, 41, suffered a pelvis fracture and a severe back injury. Comer, 33, fractured his left leg and suffered wrist, thigh, ankle and knee injuries.
The plaintiffs filed separate lawsuits in Cook County Circuit Court against the construction management firm, the deck installer and the deck supplier.
They alleged that the construction plans required support for the deck, but nobody supplied the needed support before the concrete started pouring.
Both men alleged that they couldn’t return to work in construction.
The defendants tried to move the suits to Will County, but Cook County Circuit Judge Lynn M. Egan kept the cases in the Daley Center.
Zavala’s case settled for $6 million in April but remained confidential until Comer settled his case for $6 million last week.
Zavala was represented by Joseph D. Parente and Christopher M. Norem of Parente & Norem P.C.
“The fact that they’re alive is a miracle,” Parente said.
“This was an accident waiting to happen that could have been completely avoided had somebody taken a visual inspection of the decking before the pour. It was clear there was zero shoring whatsoever.”
Comer was represented by Sean P. Murray and Marc A. Taxman of Anesi, Ozmon, Rodin, Novak & Kohen Ltd.
Murray said the settlement will take care of Comer for the rest of his life.
“This fall took away his livelihood, his profession, his career, his identity,” Murray said. “And this settlement is the first step in rebuilding his life.
“He’s had five years’ worth of surgeries. … He’s been through constant physical therapy and it’s time to move on. And this settlement will allow him the freedom to do that.”
For the defendants, Timothy D. McMahon of Wiedner & McAuliffe Ltd. and Jeffrey H. Lipe of Williams, Montgomery & John Ltd. represented Harbour Contractors Inc.
Andrew C. Seiber of SmithAmundsen LLC repre- sented Waukegan Steel Sales Inc.
Mitchell H. Frazen of Litchfield, Cavo LLP represented Cordeck Sales Inc.
McMahon, the lead defense attorney, declined to comment.
Zavala’s case is Ramiro Zavala v. Harbour Contractors Inc., et al. 08 L 10918.
Comer’s case is Joshua Comer v. Harbour Contractors Inc., et al. 09 L 3180.
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CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM // In the News
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 13, 2012 // Volume 158, No. 116
by Brett KruckmeyerTrain lawsuits end with settlements totaling $36.25M
By Pat Milhizer Law Bulletin staff writer
A fiery train derailment that killed a woman and caused the birth and death of a child yielded $36.25 million in two Cook County settlements.
Attorneys reached the larger settlement before trial and the other came Tuesday just before jurors issued a verdict after a Daley Center trial.
Three railroad companies will pay a $22.5 million settlement to Jose Tellez for the death of his 44-year-old wife, Zoila.
Tellez, 43, suffered burns in the accident that happened two years ago in Rockford. He sat in his car near a Canadian National Railway Co. (CN) train that derailed after heavy rains washed away the roadbed below the tracks.
Eighteen tankers derailed, causing an ethanol explosion. A fireball engulfed Tellez’s vehicle, which also carried his wife and their pregnant daughter.
Tellez’s suit alleged that 20 minutes before the derailment, Rockford authorities called CN at its Montreal headquarters to report the flooded conditions. The CN employee who took the call wasn’t trained to know that the train needed to be imme- diately stopped, the suit alleged.
CN also didn’t respond to a weather alert that there was a possibility of a washout and
the company previously knew about the potential for problems based on this type of alert, the suit alleged.
The suit accused CN of negligence in operation, maintenance and supervision of the train and negligence in maintenance and inspection of the railroad tracks. The complaint also named two CN subsidiaries — Illinois Central Railroad Co. and Chicago, Central & Pacific Railroad Co. — as defendants.
The settlement pays $7 million to Tellez and $15.5 million to his wife’s estate. Tellez has four daughters, ranging in age from 11 to 20.
Robert J. Bingle and Philip Harnett Corboy Jr. of Corboy & Demetrio P.C. rep- resented Tellez.
“It was a confluence of errors that led to the tragedy that just didn’t have to happen,” Bingle said. “This family has been through a lot and still is going to go through a lot. And there’s not going to be any way they could ever replace what was just a wonder- ful mother and wife. But this will help them to move on.”
Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas L. Hogan approved the settlement last month, which attorneys agreed not to report until the other case concluded.
Tellez’s daughter, who was in the car and pregnant at the time, filed the other suit.
Adriana Tellez suffered burns and delivered her daughter after six months of preg- nancy. The premature baby died within a day.
The case went to trial and minutes before jurors read the verdict Tuesday, the dispute settled for $13.75 million. The jury’s $12.95 million verdict won’t be enforced.
Christopher M. Norem, Amanda M. Martin and Joseph D. Parente of Parente & Norem P.C. represented Adriana Tellez.
“After a very hard-fought, four-week trial where they denied liability throughout the course of the trial, Canadian National was ultimately found responsible for what happened to Adriana by the jury. And that was very important for her,” Norem said.
CN was represented by James A. Fletcher of Fletcher & Sippel LLC. A Minneapolis law firm represented the two CN subsidiaries.
Fletcher couldn’t be reached for comment this morning.
Patrick Waldron, a CN spokesman, said the National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the accident.
“The Tellez family has endured a terrible tragedy and CN wishes to express again its sincerest regrets and deepest sympathies to the entire Tellez family,” Waldron said. “No amount of money can replace the family’s losses.”
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CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM // In the News
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2011 // Volume 157, No. 205
by Brett KruckmeyerAward to family in Rockford train derailment: $36.2 million
By Chris Green // rrstar.com
CHICAGO – A multimillion-dollar settlement was reached today stemming from the June 19, 2009, train derailment and explosion that claimed the life of a woman and her daughter’s unborn baby.
Canadian National Railway will pay a total of $36.2 million to the Jose Tellez family.
Killed in the multi-car derailment was Jose Tellez’s wife, Zoila Tellez. The railroad company settled with Jose Tellez for $22.5 million. Jose suffered second and third-degree burns over 25 percent of his body, said his Chicago-based attorney, Robert Bingle of Corboy and Demetrio.
Jose and Zoila’s 19-year-old daughter, Adriana, was pregnant and suffered second- and third-degree burns to her face, chest, shoulder, arms and hands as wcll as the loss of her baby, Samara Ramirez-Tellez. After a four-week trial, Canadian National Railway settled with Adriana for $137 million, said her Chicago-based attorney. Christopher Norem of Parente and Norerm Law Offices.
About 8:35 pm. June 19, 2009, the Tellez family was traveling north on South Mulford Road when they stopped at the south set of double railroad tracks.
Unknown to them and to the operators of a freight train hauling ethanol, torrential rains had washed away the bedrock underneath the railroad tracks. As the train traveled over the tracks, ethanol cars derailed. exploded and burned for nearly 21 hours.
“The Tellez family has endured a terrible tragedy, and CN wishes lo express again its sincerest regrets and deepest sympathies to the entire Tellez family. No amount of money can replace the family’s losses,” CN spokesman Patrick Waldron said.
The family’s personal-injury attorneys were pleased with the settlements.
“It was a terrible tragedy, and nothing will bring back that wonderful mother and wife, but this is certainly a measure of justice,” Bingle said.
Norem added: “The family wanted to hear the jury hold Canadian National responsible, and that’s what the jury did.”
Waldron said the settlements conclude all remaining litigation in connection with the 2009 train derailment. The case remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board.
Copyright 2011 Rockford Register Star. Some rights reserved