Settlements & Verdicts

Chicago, Illinois Personal Injury Lawyer Reaches Premises Liability Settlement

November 16, 2007 | By Dave Abels

In Chicago, Illinois personal injury attorneys from Abels & Assoc. reached a premises liability settlement for $20,000 with Jewel-Osco. The case involved a Chicago resident who cut his hand on glass that was protruding from the handle of a grocery cart. The glass was dirty and appeared to have been there for a long time. The store is liable for the injuries because they had constructive notice of the danger, meaning with reasonable inspection they should have discovered and removed the glass from the cart before the plaintiff was inured.

The plaintiff bandaged his hand, but several days later the wound became infected, and he had to seek medical treatment at a Chicago area hospital.

Illinois Auto Accident Verdict Should Send Message to Insurance Carriers

November 12, 2007 | By Dave Abels

A recent Cook County verdict in a wrongful death auto accident case may send a strong message to insurance companies. On September 28, 2007 a jury at the Daley Center in Chicago awarded the Estate of an accident victim $250,000 in a personal injury lawsuit. The deceased was a passenger in her own car when the defendant driver of the vehicle lost control and rolled over. The plaintiff was ejected from the car and died from her injuries.

Prior to trial at the Daley Center in Chicago, counsel for plaintiff demanded $20,000 to settle, and there was no offer from the defendant. You may be asking yourself why the plaintiff’s demand was only $20,000 on a death case. In Illinois, the minimum coverage for an auto insurance policy is $20,000 per person, and $40,000 per occurrence. The insurance company normally would only be responsible for the first $20,000 of the verdict. However, here the attorney for the plaintiff, Debra Crystal of Harvey L. Walner & Assoc. has indicated she will attempt to collect the entire amount against the insurance company on a bad faith claim. She is alleging the insurance company acted in bad faith by not paying out the $20,000 policy and failing to protect the defendant from a verdict far in excess of the insurance policy. She will attempt to punish the insurance company for not paying on the claim prior to trial. Continue reading

Chicago, Illinois Workers’ Compensation Lawyers Reach Settlement For Chicago Lineman

November 11, 2007 | By Dave Abels

Chicago Personal Injury Lawyers from Abels & Assoc. just settled a workers’ compensation case for the Chicago Area lineman pictured below. When he is out and about in Chicago he is often approached by football fans who think he is either Chicago Bear Cedric Bensen, or former Chicago Bear Tank Johnson.

While he certainly looks like a pro football player (6’6″ and 250+ lbs), he is actually Kankakee, Illinois resident Andrew Bradley, and he is not a lineman for the Bears, but rather a lineman for AT&T. He is one of the brave guys up on the telephone poles making needed repairs.

He injured his shoulder while lifting a heavy object at work. He suffered a small tear to his supraspinatus tendon that will not require surgery. His work comp. case just settled for $25,000.