$2 Million Jury Verdict for Spinal Injury Caused by Negligent Elevator Maintenance

John Deatherage, 51, was on an elevator when it suddenly dropped and came to a violent stop. Deatherage, who had two previous surgeries at L5-S1, suffered a spinal injury that required a fusion surgery at that level. He continues to experience back and spine problems.

He sued Schindler Elevator Corp., alleging that it chose not to maintain and repair the elevator. Deatherage maintained that Schindler had a contract with the casino’s owner, under which it was paid a flat fee for preventative maintenance at the casino but failed to determine why the elevator was malfunctioning so frequently.

Deatherage’s attorneys argued that Schindler’s mechanic never determined the cause of the problem and would not follow up. There was no claim by Deatherage for medical expenses or lost income.

The jury returned a verdict of $2 million in favor of Deatherage.

The attorneys successfully representing Deatherage at trial were Andrew Fraser, Timothy Dinan, Cal Danlap and Monique Laxalt.

At trial, the Deatherage attorneys presented an expert in elevators and elevator maintenance while the defendant presented an elevator expert and a mechanical engineer as experts.

Deatherage v. Schindler Elevator Corp., No. 3:16-CV-0206 MMD-VPC (D. Nev. July 13, 2018).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling catastrophic injury lawsuits, elevator accident cases, elevator defect lawsuits, truck accident cases, pedestrian accident lawsuits, bicycle accident cases and car accident lawsuits for individuals, families and loved ones who have been injured, harmed or killed by the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 40 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Naperville, Evanston, Elmhurst, Long Grove, Maywood, Elmwood Park, Melrose Park, Chicago Ridge, Chicago Heights, South Barrington, Blue Island, Chicago (Rogers Park, East Garfield Park, North Lawndale, Hegewisch, East Side, South Shore, Kenwood, Hyde Park, Wrigleyville, Greek Town, West Loop, Jefferson Park, Austin, Gresham), University Park, Country Club Hills, Lansing, Lemont and New Lenox, Ill.