Charles Peterson, 39, was driving on an interstate highway when another vehicle collided with his. The impact of the crash caused Peterson to lose control of his vehicle, which moved onto the highway median.
The driver of a commercial truck then made a sudden turn on the highway, causing its trailer to fishtail and strike Peterson’s vehicle.
Peterson suffered serious injuries necessitating amputation of both legs. His medical expenses were $1.2 million.
Raquel Manzo, 53, a homemaker, was driving her car and stopped at a stop sign when Daniel Garcia Buenrostro, who was driving a dump truck, suddenly rear-ended her car. Manzo suffered neck and lower back injuries that required a cervical fusion at C6-7 with injections.
Manzo, who was a candidate for future cervical fusions at an adjacent level of her spinal column, incurred medical expenses of $373,000. She sued LGS Transport Inc., Buenrostro, and the owner of the vehicle, alleging negligence.
Manzo did not make a claim for lost income.
James DeFranscesco, 53, owned his own trucking company. He parked his tractor-trailer for the night at a truck stop in Georgia but was awakened when an adjacent tractor-trailer got stuck to his rig after turning too sharply while pulling out.
DeFranscesco opened his door and fell to the pavement while the other truck driver attempted to free his vehicle. The other driver broke free and started to drive off. DeFranscesco ran after the truck and jumped on its low bumper bar, holding on with one hand and yelling at the driver to stop.
The driver then tapped his brakes, causing DeFranscesco to fall off the rig. DeFranscesco suffered a lumbar disk protrusion at L3-4, which required a laminectomy. He continued to experience pain that interfered with his ability to work, resulting in 795 missed work days and approximately $363,400 in lost income.
The Illinois Supreme Court held that it lacked appellate jurisdiction to review a trial court order because the order was not final. In this matter, the plaintiff, Clifton Armstead, was a semi-truck driver working for a Pennsylvania-based company. Armstead was injured in Illinois by another semi-truck operated by Derrick Roberts. Armstead filed a workers’ compensation claim with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor, which led to the signing of an agreement settling the workers’ comp claim.
The agreement stated that Armstead suffered from a right knee strain but no other injuries.
Armstead concurrently filed a negligence action in Grundy County, Ill., against Roberts and his employer, National Freight. The trial court granted a partial summary judgment in the defendant’s favor, determining that the workers’ compensation agreement included a judicial admission precluding Armstead from asserting injuries other than a right knee strain. The Illinois Appellate Court affirmed.
Reinaldo Cubillos was a passenger in a box truck that was stopped in traffic on a highway. A log truck driven by Jesus Ajete Perez rear-ended the Cubillos truck, which then hit the back of a minivan. Cubillos suffered aggravation of a pre-existing herniation at C5-6 and a Hill-Sachs lesion related to a dislocated shoulder. The Hill-Sachs lesion is an osseous defect of the humeral head that is typically associated with anterior shoulder instability.
Cubillos underwent physical therapy arthroscopy and surgical fusion surgery but continues to suffer from collision-related pain.
He sued Kevin SL Transport LLC, the log truck’s owner, and Perez, alleging improper lookout and negligence. The lawsuit claimed undisclosed medical expenses but no lost income.
Sammie Pendergrass, 24, was driving on a highway when Franklin Burgess lost control of his tractor-trailer, crossed the median, and collided head-on with Pendergrass’s van.
Pendergrass was thrown from his vehicle into a ditch; he suffered blunt force trauma and other serious injuries.
He lost consciousness approximately 30 minutes after this crash and died of cardiac arrest the same day. He was survived by his parents and siblings.
Mr. Doe, a 36-year-old construction worker, was completing his first day at work at a town home construction site. He was standing next to a large flatbed truck, waiting for help to unload a crane when a commercial trash collection truck came around the corner and sideswiped the flatbed truck.
Mr. Doe was crushed between the two vehicles and suffered severe injuries to his right leg and foot, as well as rib and spinal fractures. Despite multiple foot and leg surgeries, Mr. Doe continued to suffer from chronic lymphedema and deformity. Mr. Doe’s medical expenses totaled almost $400,000.
Mr. Doe sued the truck driver’s corporate employer, alleging that it was liable for the driver’s choosing not to remain in his lane of traffic. Before trial, the parties settled for $1.25 million.
Steven Parker was an employee of Black Toppers Inc. when he was driving on Interstate 95 in a Black Toppers truck pulling a loaded flatbed trailer owned by Sam’s Paving. Parker lost control of his truck, which swerved to the right, and over-corrected, which led to him crashing through the highway’s guardrail.
Parker’s truck collided head-on with Carlos Mendez’s vehicle.
Mendez, 28, was killed in the crash. He was survived by his common-law spouse and five minor children. Mendez had been an electrician earning approximately $40,000 per year.
Jose Maclovio, an 18-year-old farmworker, was riding home in a van driven by Ramiro Tadeo-Lazaaro.
A vehicle driven by Craig Brewer rear-ended the van as it was stopped at a railroad crossing. Maclovio suffered a burst fracture at C5, which required an emergency surgery. Sadly, despite this treatment, Maclovio suffered partial quadriplegia.
He sued Tadeo-Lazaaro, Brewer and the van’s owner alleging negligent operation of the defendants’ vehicles.
Gina Sanderson, 48, drove her vehicle into an intersection where there was a two-way stop sign. Her car was struck from the side by a tractor-trailer driven by Philip Wright. He had run through the stop sign. Wright was an employee of Darling Ingredients Inc. Sanderson suffered a right leg tibia pilon fracture that involved the ankle as well. The injury required two surgeries. She now experiences chronic pain and has a collapsed arch and a foot and ankle deformity among other issues.
Sanderson, who is an autism consultant, is unable to continue working full time.
She sued Wright, alleging that he chose not to stop at a stop sign, failed to keep a proper lookout and did not yield the right-of-way. The lawsuit against Darling Ingredients alleged owner liability under state law.
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