by Brett Kruckmeyer$250K verdict upheld in Metra platform suit
BY DAVID THOMAS
Law Bulletin staff writer
A state appeals panel last month upheld a $250,000 verdict against Metra for a 68-year-old’s injuries after a ticket agent backed into him on a station platform.
The 1st District Appellate Court found Cook County Circuit Judge Claire Elizabeth McWilliams did not err in allowing plaintiff Robert Hoffman to introduce evidence of Metra’s own safety rules.
Hoffman fell on the morning of June 8, 2013, around 5:30.
Richard Davis, a Metra ticket agent, was trying to get a homeless man sleeping on the Fox Lake station platform to leave. At the same time, Hoffman was walking past the two men.
The homeless man stood up and Davis stepped back without looking. He knocked into Hoffman, who fell to the ground and broke his hip.
Davis and another person helped Hoffman to a nearby bench, where he sat and rested until 10:45 a.m., when a Metra police officer asked Hoffman if he needed assistance.
Hoffman was taken to a hospital and diagnosed with a fractured hip.
The day after the accident, Hoffman underwent an internal fixation in which screws were inserted into his hip to realign and stabilize it.
Initially, the surgery was a success, and Hoffman had no issue moving around. But over time, Hoffman’s hip collapsed, causing his right leg to be shorter than his left. He eventually needed a cane and then a wheelchair to get around.
Hoffman’s doctor testified he would need more extensive surgery in the future, but he declined to say how much it would cost.
Hoffman sued Metra on June 3, 2014. Over the rail agency’s objection, Hoffman introduced evidence of Metra’s internal safety rules.
Rule 100.9.3 requires Metra employees to “look before you step in any direction” when walking on any “elevated places.”
The parties disagreed whether the platform where Hoffman fell counted as an elevated place.
The jury found Metra liable for Hoffman’s injuries and awarded him $500,000 before cutting the amount in half, attributing him 50 of the fault for the injury.
“[T]he jury was free to accept Davis’ testimony that the particular rule in question did not apply to him and that he also had ‘a valid reason’ for moving quickly in this particular situation, namely, because a homeless man was suddenly standing up in front of him,” Justice Robert E. Gordon wrote. “By the same token, the jurors were also free to reject it and consider the rule, ‘along with other evidence,’ in reaching their determination that defendant was 50 [percent] responsible for the incident.”
According to Matthew J. Coleman, an associate at the Law Offices of Parente & Norem P.C. and one of Hoffman’s attorneys, the question of the platform’s elevation was not a major factor.
Matthew J. Coleman
“It really didn’t come into play that much. It’s really whether I could confront Rich Davis with the safety rules,” Coleman said. Davis acknowledged the rule’s existence, but argued it didn’t apply to him at the time.
Within the original $500,000 verdict before reduction, the jury awarded $70,000 for future medical expenses. Metra singled out that valuation on appeal.
But the panel rejected Metra’s argument that the $35,000 amount after reduction should be further reduced, finding no abuse of discretion by the trial court.
On appeal, Metra argued McWilliams erred in introducing the railroad’s internal safety rules, requiring a new trial. The rail agency argued the violation of an internal rule does not constitute negligence, although the 1st District panel noted Metra misquoted the decision it cited.
Under Morton v. City of Chicago, 286 Ill. App. 3d 444 (1997), the 1st District panel found that while an internal rule violation does not automatically translate to willful and wanton conduct, a jury can consider it as evidence. That is what the jury did in Hoffman’s case, Gordon wrote.
The panel found that even if McWilliams had erred in introducing the evidence, it would not have affected the jury’s decision.
Metra was represented by Associate General Counsel Kenneth Jones and attorney Jamie Victoria Harrmann.
Metra spokesman Michael Gillis said, “We’ll abide by the appellate decision.”
Hoffman was also represented by Jordan W. LaClair of Parente & Norem.
Justices Margaret Stanton McBride and David W. Ellis concurred with the opinion.
The case is Robert Hoffman v. Northeast Illinois Regional Commuter Railroad Corp., 2017 IL App (1st) 170537.
dthomas@lawbulletinmedia.com
Copyright © 2018 Law Bulletin Media. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Media.
by Brett Kruckmeyer$6.6 Mil awarded for O’Hare L crash
CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM // In the News
Volume 163, No. 31 // WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 2017
BY LAURAANN WOOD Law Bulletin staff writer
A Cook County jury has awarded $6.65 million to a woman who suffered several injuries when a Blue Line train derailed at the O’Hare station.
Plaintiff Yolanda Montes sued the Chicago Transit Authority in 2014, alleging it negligently failed to operate its rail system safely and ensure its train operator was not fatigued while on the clock.
Montes, a Transportation Security Administration employee, was riding in the train’s sixth car on her way to work around 2:50 a.m. on March 24, 2014, when the front of the train barreled past a protective bumper onto the station platform and came to rest halfway up the escalator into O’Hare International Airport.
Reports that came out days after the incident indicated the train’s operator said she fell asleep at the controls and didn’t wake up until the collision.
Montes’ head struck a metal pole and a train door in the incident, causing her to suffer neck pain, back pain and a concussion. But the impact also aggravated her previously existing asymptomatic degenerative disk disease and arthritis, said Christopher M. Norem, a partner at Parente & Norem P.C. who represented Montes.
She began treating her injuries conservatively immediately after Early-morning derailment caused injuries to TSA worker with existing back problems
the crash but decided to undergo surgery after more than a year of no response, Norem said. She received a one-level fusion in her neck in June 2015 and a two-level lumbar fusion in March, he said.
“This was a woman that was a [Transportation security officer] at O’Hare who had to handle bags. She had to twist and bend and lift,” Norem said. “She was able to do that without a problem in her life. Then this event happened, and we have this whole cascade of treatments.”
Montes’ neck surgery resolved her radiating arm pain, Norem said, but it did not treat the local neck pain. Now 37, Montes works as an administrative assistant with the TSA in a position that meets all of her permanent restrictions related to lifting, bending and standing, Norem said.
The CTA admitted negligence in the suit and acknowledged Montes’ neck pain, back pain and concussion. However, it denied that her aggravated degenerative disk and arthritis symptoms resulted from the train crash.
“They fought us tooth and nail on that,” Norem said, noting the CTA retained a medical expert to support its contention during trial.
To challenge that argument, Norem presented jurors with two options. He said the jury could find it more likely than not that the collision triggered his client’s aggravating symptoms, or it could accept the CTA’s contention that the crash didn’t cause the symptoms. Norem called that contention “the world’s biggest coincidence.”
The CTA was represented by its managing attorney Jade G. Simmons-Ford and senior attorney Calvin A. Townsend II. Townsend deferred comment to its media relations department, which declined to comment.
Norem said the parties did not engage in settlement discussions, but the CTA offered $600,000 to settle about two weeks before and then $2 million during their weeklong trial before Circuit Judge Arnette R. Hubbard.
On Friday, The jury awarded Montes $440,000 for past loss of a normal life, $840,000 for future loss of a normal life, $50,000 for disfigurement, $840,000 for past pain and suffering, $2.75 million for future pain and suffering, $617,000 for past medical expenses, $617,000 for future medical expenses and $500,000 for lost earnings.
Norem said his client is pleased with the jury’s verdict.
“She’s made the best out of a bad situation, but unfortunately her dreams of becoming a full time law enforcement officer are never going to come true,” he said. “But she’s satisfied with her outcome. She put her trust in the jury, and it made a fair and just decision for her.”
Parente & Norem associate Amanda M. Martin also represented Montes.
The case is Yolanda Montes v. Chicago Transit Authority, 14 L 4695.
Copyright © 2017 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.
by Brett Kruckmeyer$5.4M Award for slip, fall on fuel spill
| https://pninjurylaw.com/parente-news-feb14-2017/ |
CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM // In the News
Volume 163, No. 31 // TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2017
BY LAURAANN WOOD Law Bulletin staff writer
$5.445M net jury verdict against Union Pacific Rail Road for injured an
railroad worker brought under FELA.
37 year-old diesel mechanic was attempting to loosen a fitting on a fuel pre-heater with a pipe wrench
while standing in leaking diesel fuel when the fighting broke free causing him to twist and sustain an inguinal hernia along with a lumbar disk injury.
Plaintiff returned to work in a modified duty, but before having
back surgery was unfortunately in a serious car accident which fractured
his right ankle.
We obtained a $2.95M settlement for this man for his ankle injury.
Once he healed from the ankle fracture he returned to a spine surgeon and underwent a two-level lumbar fusion surgery on his back.
Union Pacific offered $50K during the start of the trial.
The jury awarded the entire $9M we requested of them and reduced it by 39.5% contributory negligence on the part of the mechanic, resulting in the net verdict of $5.445M or more than 100x the settlement offer at trial.
by Brett KruckmeyerPlaintiff Receives $1.45M; High-Low Deal Settles Suit
BY LAURAANN WOOD Law Bulletin staff writer
A construction worker received a $1.45 million settlement after a high-low agreement was reached shortly before a Cook County jury returned with a verdict.
The jury’s $2.3 million award came Friday. Though that’s $850,000 more than the settlement amount, the agreement ensured the plaintiff would walk away with compensation had the jury gone with a smaller award or none at all.
Plaintiff William Rosignal’s attorney, Christopher M. Norem, said Rosignal is still satisfied with his case’s outcome because he wanted finality. “It just goes to show that if you ’re a credible person, even if you ’re working a hard job … the jury is still going to give you money for pain and suffering and loss of a normal life,” he said.
Rosignal was injured after a school bus rear-ended his work van.
Rosignal alleged the driver of a First Student school bus improperly operated the vehicle and rammed into the back of Rosignal’s van in 2012.
Rosignal, 47, a self-employed construction worker, was stopped at a red light facing west on North Avenue at the intersection with Schmale Road in Glendale Heights when the bus struck the back of his white Chevrolet van.
The impact caused a disk in Rosignal ’s neck to herniate, which also pressed on spinal nerves and caused him to experience pain in his arms and hands.
He underwent a two-level cervical fusion to repair the disk as well as another injury to the vertebra above the injured area to relieve the pain in his hands and arms.
The surgery kept Rosignal out of work for three months, but he returned to the same type of heavy work he performed before the accident and has maintained that activity since.
But even though he still experiences persistent pain, he continues to work simply out of necessity, said Norem, a partner at Parente & Norem P.C.
“It was significant to him that the hand pain and numbness went away because he’s a construction worker,” he said. “But he still dealt with head and neck pain and pain in the low back of his head.”
Rosignal sued First Student and bus driver Stephen Boeck in May 2013, alleging Boeck failed to take any evasive measures to avoid the collision .
The suit alleged First Student provided a school bus to an unfit driver, and the company failed to properly train Boeck to operate a school bus or ensure he could safely operate a bus before allowing him to drive one for the company.
The defendants initially denied the allegations but later admitted negligence, which caused the case to proceed to trial on damages before Circuit Judge James Michael Varga.
Partners John W. Patton Jr. and Michael G. Vranicar of Patton & Ryan LLC represented the defendants.
“We are pleased that plaintiff settled this matter with us prior to the jury verdict, as the injuries were quite severe in this matter,” Patton said.
To contest damages, Norem said, the defendants recorded Rosignal engaging in work and performing heavy-duty tasks as evidence that he might not be as severely injured as he contended.
However, Varga didn’t admit the video into the trial. Norem said Varga ruled the surveillance tape wasn’t probative since Rosignal’s case didn’t include a claim he couldn’t perform physically demanding construction work.
After four days in court and before the high-low agreement, the jury awarded Rosignal $232,641 for past medical expenses, $50,000 for future medical expenses, $350,000 for past pain and suffering. $1 million for future pain and suffering, $175,000 for past loss of a normal life and $525,000 for future loss of a normal life.
The case is William Rosignal v. First Student, Inc. et al., 13 L 4964.
———————————————————————-
CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM // In the News
Volume 162, No. 61 // TUESDAY, MARCH 29, 2016
by Brett KruckmeyerSlip on Ice Nets $3.5M settlement
BY LAURAANN WOOD Law Bulletin staff writer
A man who severely injured his back after a construction accident has settled his suit against the project’s general contractor for $3.5 million.
The agreement came earlier this month, the day before a Cook County judge was scheduled to rule from the bench on 62-year-old Kevin Montgomery’s negligence and premises-liability case.
He sued Bovis Lend Lease Inc. alleging the company should have corrected or halted work in wintry conditions to prevent him from slipping on ice and suffering his injury in December 2007.
Montgomery, 54 at the time, worked for Tribco, Bovis’ concrete subcontractor hired to lay the concrete structure for the One Museum Park East condominium complex at 1211 S. Prairie Ave.
Montgomery and two foremen were tasked to move three carts of plywood sheets across a just completed concrete floor on the 61st floor to a temporary balcony so a crane could pick them up.
“They’re like railroad carts, they’re super heavy with big steel wheels on them,” said Christopher M. Norem, a partner at Parente & Norem P.C. who represented Montgomery. “By the time one of those is full, it weighs about 3,000 pounds.”
However, Norem said, the project had seen several prior days of snow and ice before Montgomery and the foremen had to move the carts. Although the floors and temporary balconies are placed under a cover in such conditions, he said, moisture still seeps through.
That happened on the building’s 61st floor, causing ice to build up on the concrete, Norem said. As Montgomery and the foremen moved one of the carts, he said, Montgomery slipped on an unnoticed patch of ice nearby and twisted his back.
He underwent an initial lumbar fusion about a year after the injury, Norem said, and then a second fusion about a year later.
Montgomery felt some relief from leg pain after the second surgery, Norem said, but he never returned to his pre-injury condition.
Eventually, he said, Montgomery developed arachnoiditis — an inflammatory condition of the spinal nerves — which causes him to experience constant nerve pain that medicine cannot fully remedy.
“If you have all those interventions going on in there, and you develop scar tissue in that very sensitive area, sometimes — it’s rare, but it happens — people get this inflammatory condition in there where those nerves just won’t calm down,” Norem said.
As a result, he said, Montgomery can no longer work in the construction trade or maintain any other type of employment.
Montgomery filed suit in Cook County Circuit Court against Bovis in May 2010. He alleged the company allowed him to work in unsafe work conditions by allowing snow and ice to accumulate on the premises, failing to reasonably inspect it or provide adequate safeguards against injury and requiring workers to move nearly 3,000 pounds of plywood sheets when it was unsafe to do so.
In its answer, Bovis admitted it was present during the course of construction but denied that the company directly or proximately caused any kind of injury by way of any alleged negligence.
Instead, Bovis contended in affirmative defenses, Montgomery breached his own duty of care to himself by failing to look out for his own safety, exercise proper caution to avoid potential hazards and remove the ice and snow when it was his duty to do so.
Norem said the parties hotly contested the allegation that Montgomery or Tribco should have removed the snow and ice, as the company’s contract with Bovis includes a provision that it was responsible for clearing conditions “as needed” or “if requested.”
However, Montgomery contended Bovis’ argument was flawed because Tribco had already completed its job on the floor by the time he slipped.
“They were not actively working,” Norem said. “Basically, the materials were just sitting there in the way of some other stuff … so that’s now a floor that was no longer under Tribco’s control.”
The parties attempted mediation twice — once in 2013 before retired judge Jennifer Duncan-Brice of Resolute Systems LLC and again one year from of trial before retired judge Joseph N. Casciato of ADR Systems of America LLC.
The parties failed to reach an agreement, Norem said, because Bovis contended Montgomery’s accident was more than 50 percent his fault and refused to meet his settlement demand.
Montgomery and Bovis proceeded through a four-week bench trial that ended Nov. 12 before Cook County Circuit Judge John P. Kirby. After the plaintiff rested, Norem said, Bovis moved for a directed finding. which Kirby denied.
“It was pretty clear at that point that we were going to succeed on liability, and then the question was simply, ‘Well, what’s the value?’”
Montgomery and Bovis settled Dec. 10 for $3.5 million and waiver of a $1,038,926.50 workers’ compensation lien. Kirby was scheduled to rule on the matter Dec 11.
Katherine A. Jones, a partner at Christensen & Ehret LLP who represented Bovis, said while many factors play into a party’s decision to settle, a driving factor in this case was the issue of whose duty it was to clear the snow and ice.
It’s an issue that is settled in premises liability claims but less clear in construction negligence cases, she said.
“When a contractor and a subcontractor have a relationship, there are certain factors that go into when (a contractor has) a responsibility to remediate a subcontractor’s behavior,” she said. “The interplay of that, when it comes to snow and ice, is kind of an unsettled issue under Illinois law.”
Norem said Bovis’ denied motion likely played a large role in helping the parties to meet in the middle. And considering Bovis never exceeded a $1 million offer before Kirby heard the case, he said, the settlement could have never happened without spending those four weeks in the courtroom.
“They finally paid an amount of money that was, in our opinion, fair and reasonable to the point that it outweighed the risk of getting less on the verdict or losing on appeal,” Norem said. “At that point, Kevin is satisfied. Kevin is now 62. Kevin has custody of two of his granddaughters. He can now take care of them and himself and not be worried about money for the rest of his life.”
Montgomery was also represented by associate Amanda M. Martin of Parente & Norem.
Bovis was also represented by Partner Mark E. Christensen of Christensen & Ehret LLP.
The case is Kevin Montgomery v. Bovis Lend Lease, Inc. 10 L 6192.
———————————————————————-
CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM // In the News
Volume 161, No. 254// WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2015
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.
———————————————————————-
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.
———————————————————————-
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.
———————————————————————-
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.