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Motor Vehicle Injury Case Results

$35.836 Million Verdict - Quadriplegia From Automobile Accident

This jury verdict (reduced to $26,875,000.00 for 25% contributory negligence) was ruled in favor of a 51-year-old mother of two who sustained severe brain stem injury causing quadriplegia and cranial nerve injuries when she was broadsided by a Cook County Sheriff’s police officer traveling through a red light at approximately 70 miles per hour while en route to a low-priority "unwanted subject" call as an un-requested backup unit. The plaintiff was required to prove, and the jury found, that the officer’s conduct was willful and wanton. The defendant claimed that the officer was on an emergency call and was justified in her actions when going through the intersection. Attorney Paul Salzetta was able to exclude evidence of alcohol use due to unreliable testing and a showing that the client was not impaired and that alcohol played no part in the collision. This is one of the largest jury verdicts ever obtained against Cook County or any municipality in the state of Illinois.

$5.6 Million Settlement - Street Hazard

An 18-year-old man was rendered quadriplegic for 2 1/2 years before he died when the vehicle he was a passenger in struck a dumpster that had been left in a traffic lane near 79th and Greenwood in Chicago.

$3.25 Million Settlement - Automobile Accident

Cook County - Attorneys Timothy M. Richardson and Paul Salzetta. A female in her mid-fifties was driving on an Interstate expressway when she was rear ended by the defendant. She died from her injuries, with no evidence of survival on impact. She is survived by two adult children.

$3 Million - Police Pursuit Accident

This recovery was on behalf of a young woman whose right elbow was injured in an automobile collision. Her vehicle was struck at an intersection by an offender fleeing police during a pursuit. The recovery against the police authority was grounded on willful and wonton conduct for the manner in which the officer conducted the police pursuit, which endangered public safety.

$2.5 Million Settlement - Teen Killed by Police Car Pursuing Speeder

A teenage boy was killed when he tried to make a left-hand turn in front of an unmarked police car. The officer was speeding without lights or siren activated while trying to catch another driver observed traveling over the speed limit. The law enforcement agency investigating the collision determined that the teen failed to stop at a stop sign and was traveling at a high rate of speed when he entered the intersection. However, Winters Salzetta O'Brien & Richardson, LLC was able to utilize the vehicle's event data recorder and eye witness testimony to show that the police's accident reconstruction was incorrect, that the teen properly entered the intersection at a normal speed, and the teen had no opportunity to avoid the speeding officer.

$2 Million - Rear-Ended on Kennedy Expressway

We obtained recovery on behalf of a husband and two children for a woman who was rear-ended and killed while driving on the Kennedy Expressway.

$1.96 Million Settlement - Trucking Accident

The defendant’s dump truck ran a red light at Route 72 at Randall Road in Elgin and struck a 39-year-old man driving a northbound vehicle, killing him instantly.

$1.9 Million Settlement - Trucking Accident

Attorney Timothy Richardson - The defendant’s semi-tractor-trailer rear ended the plaintiff’s vehicle on northbound I-294 near its exit with I-88, resulting in the death of a 35-year-old male. There were issues regarding whether the plaintiff’s vehicle had cut in front of the semi-tractor-trailer due to another vehicle cutting across three lanes of traffic to reach the I-88 exit.

$1.85 Million Settlement- Trucking Accident

Cook County, August 6, 2012 - Attorneys Timothy Richardson and John F. Winters, Jr. - An IDOT mowing tractor operated by the plaintiff, a 51-year-old man, was rear ended at 50 mph in a marked mowing zone on northbound Route 12 in Wauconda by a Major Transport tractor-trailer. The plaintiff was ejected and sustained a Grade 3 left acromicoclavicular joint separation, a torn left rotator cuff, an abdominal linea alba tear, and two broken ribs. He had three shoulder surgeries done, resuting in medical expenses of $340,049 and $248,519 in lost work time. Allegedly, Major Transport was an agent and/or joint venture of Lurvey Farms LLP and American Green, which the defendants denied. Nationwide Mutual paid $988,574 for Major Transport ($1 million policy with a declining limit for paid property damage). Rural Mutual and West Bend Mutual each contributed $430,713 for Lurvey Farms and American Green respectively. A $340,000 comp lien waiver was also secured.

$1.54 Million – Escaped Horses Cause Auto Accident

A young woman was injured when her car struck a group of horses. The horses lived on a nearby Will County farm, but the owner of the farm failed to properly secure a gate that confined the horses. Because the gate was not closed and secured properly, the horses escaped, ran into the road, and hit the plaintiff’s car.

$1.3 Million Settlement – Trucking Accident

The plaintiff, a 52-year-old electrician, was injured when a tractor-trailer swerved into his lane of traffic to avoid another car. Surveillance video recovered from a nearby store after the accident showed that the tractor-trailer was cut off by a car making a right hand turn on a red light. However, attorneys Bart Galvin, Tim Richardson, and Paul Salzetta were able to show that the truck driver was not paying attention and violated numerous trucking safety standards. Had the truck driver been paying attention and obeying proper procedure, the truck could have stayed in its lane and avoided a collision. Instead, it swerved into the plaintiff’s lane and pushed the plaintiff’s van into a head on collision with another car. Initially, the plaintiff only suffered a small heel fracture, but his altered gait from the heel fracture eventually resulted in ligament injuries in both of his ankles.

$1 Million - Wrongful Death Due to Truck Debris

We received this recovery on behalf of the wife of a young man who was killed instantly when his vehicle ran off the road on I-88. Motorists reported seeing a blue plastic crate ahead of the deceased, causing him to veer off the road and hit a light pole. Investigation revealed the defendant/manufacturer of the crate and the defendant/transporter. Witness testimony and reconstruction of the evidence established that the crate carrier was on the same road shortly before the occurrence and likely dropped a crate from its load onto the roadway, leading to the crash.

$875,000 - Trucking Accident

A wrongful death recovery went to a family (parents and two brothers) of a 22-year-old young man who turned left at the end of a green arrow traffic light and was struck by a truck entering the controlled intersection on a red light. Accident reconstruction established that though the deceased was turning left, the defendant's light had just turned red, and he did not slow down or stop.

$800,000 - Trucker Rear-ended at Tollway Oasis

We won a recovery on behalf of a trucker who was rear-ended at the O’Hare Tollway Oasis. The impact damaged his left knee, and he suffered chronic lumbar muscle damage.

$757,867 Verdict - Kane County Motorcycle Accident

This Kane County verdict was obtained on behalf of the family of a motorcycle driver who died after crashing into a stopped vehicle. The two defendants stopped their vehicles in the middle of the road in order to talk with one another. After coming over a crest in the road, the motorcycle driver did not have time to stop his motorcycle or avoid the cars that were blocking the road.

$750,000 Settlement - Will County Car Accident

Attorney Timothy Richardson - A 43-year-old woman was T-boned by an employee of a telecommunications company who failed to stop at a stop sign. The collision resulted in an aggravation of her pre-existing spinal condition. Due to these injuries, she required spinal surgery. The defendant claimed that the surgery was unrelated to the accident, but they agreed to pay a settlement of $750,000.

$713,602 Verdict - Automobile/Pedestrian Accident

A 48-year-old woman was struck while walking westbound across Northbrook Court Mall Drive at the intersection with Lake Cook Road. She was hit by a northbound Lexus SUV at a low speed. The pedestrian suffered a blow to the head and sustained a mild traumatic brain injury with resulting fatigue, emotional lability, and chronic headaches.

$550,000 Settlement - Pedestrian Struck by Police Cruiser

Partner Timothy M. Richardson and Associate Elizabeth Pudenz obtained a settlement on behalf of a plaintiff who was crossing a downtown street when he was struck by a police cruiser. Our attorneys were able to show that a medical condition of the police officer caused him to lose control of his vehicle. The plaintiff suffered an injury to the vestibular nerve (inner ear) resulting in episodic dizziness, plus the aggravation of pre-existing migraine headaches.

$125,000 Settlement - Scooter Rider Injured By Taxi

Daniel E. O'Brien achieved a successful settlement for a gentleman injured while traveling on Wells Street in the City of Chicago. The man was struck by a taxi cab while riding a scooter on the city's North Side. He suffered a fractured collarbone and ligament tears in his knee. Winters Salzetta O'Brien & Richardson, LLC draws upon its decades of experience in representing motorists, bicyclists, and other clients injured in traffic accidents.

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