$231,000 Jury Verdict for Injured Patron at Illinois Sports Bar

A Cook County jury has entered a $231,674 verdict for Patrick Somenzi, who was a patron at the bar known as the Dirty Sock. The bar is located at 9300 S. Roberts Road in Hickory Hills, Ill. On Dec. 11, 2012, Somenzi was a patron at the bar, which was offering an “all you can drink” special during a Bears game telecast.

He was injured when some of the bar’s unruly patrons who had been ejected earlier re-entered the bar and attacked Somenzi and his friends.

Somenzi, who was 23 at the time, was a warehouse worker and sustained torn ligaments in his left ankle that required surgery to repair because of the attack.

He  maintained that the defendant bar, the Dirty Sock, was negligent for allowing these unruly individuals to re-enter the bar after they had already caused such a disturbance.

The defendant denied that the tavern had a duty to protect patrons from third parties. The jury thought otherwise.

The jury’s verdict of $231,674 was entered after it assigned 3.75% fault on the part of  Somenzi for his role in causing his own injuries. That percentage for contributory negligence responsibility on the plaintiff is one of the smallest percentages I have ever seen.

The jury’s verdict was made up of the following damages:

• $96,744 for pain and suffering;
• $48,125 for loss of normal life;
• $24,125 for disfigurement;
• $43,877 for past medical expenses paid;
• $18,865 for lost earnings.

The jury was also asked two special questions or a special interrogatories, which were: “Was the occurrence reasonably foreseeable to defendant?” The jury’s answer was, “Yes.” “Was the conduct of defendant the proximate cause of the injuries to plaintiff?” Again, the jury answered, “Yes.”

The attorney representing Somenzi was Kevin E. O’Reilly. The demand to settle the case before trial was $90,000. Counsel for Somenzi asked the jury to return a verdict between $250,000 and $400,000. The offer to settle before trial was $30,000.

Patrick Somenzi v. Dirty Sock, Inc., 12 L 2948 (Cook County, Ill.).

Kreisman Law Offices has been handling injury cases, car accident cases, truck accidents cases and nursing home abuse cases for individuals and families who have been harmed, injured or died as a result of the carelessness or negligence of another for more than 38 years in and around Chicago, Cook County and its surrounding areas, including Niles, Bedford Park, Hickory Hills, Chicago Ridge, Blue Island, Aurora, Joliet, Waukegan, Northbrook, Buffalo Grove, Arlington Heights, Rolling Meadows, Wood Dale, Bensenville, Elmhurst, Hillside, Bridgeview, Bellwood, Maywood, River Grove, Schiller Park and Palos Heights, Ill.

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