Over $5 Million to Burn Victim injured during the repair of a retort machine. The three defendants in the case argued that he had triggered the steam mechanism in the process of the repair. We contented that the “safety” switch was defective and not adequate in relation to the degree of danger. The original offer of $2 million was increased to $5 million and a settlement was reached. (Settled by Marvin Brustin)
Our $2.5 Million Jury verdict on a products liability case for a truck driver who fell from a car hauler was appealed by the defendant company. The case proceed to the Appellate Court but ended when the defendants agreed to pay the entire amount the afternoon before the scheduled arguments in the Appellate Court. (Tried by Marvin Brustin)
$2.1 Million in medical malpractice case where a woman bled to death after surgery. During trial the defendants offered one million dollars which as the trial progressed they increased to $2.1 million dollars which the family accepted. (Tried by Marvin Brustin and Milo Lundblad)
$1.67 Million Jury verdict from CHA and private landlord for lead poisoning. An 18 month old child had eaten paint chips containing lead over a period of time at two different apartment locations, one owned by CHA and the other by a private landlord. Each defendant claimed the other was responsible for the lead paint. At trial the CHA settled “out of court” and the jury found in our favor against the private landlord. (Tried by Milo Lundblad)
$1.6 Million jury verdict to construction worker who fell through roof. A carpenter fell 15 – 20 feet through a deteriorated section of roof sustaining fractures and knee replacement. Prior to trial the defense offered $500,000, which they increased to $650,000 during the trial, much less than the jury awarded. (Tried by Marvin Brustin)
$35,000 increased to $500,000 after appeal and second trial. In a case where an elderly woman underwent knee replacement surgery that was not properly attended to post surgically at her nursing home, the jury returned a verdict of $35,000. Not feeling this was fair and just compensation we appealed this verdict and won the right to a new trial. In the second trial the defense maintained that the woman’s current health problems were due to her age (80) and the infection and knee rupture were only minor factors in her overall problems. At this second trial the jury awarded her $500,000 which was $465,000 more than the original verdict. (Lead attorney at the second trial was Marvin Brustin).
Precedent law we set in the Appellate Court benefiting injured persons:
- Contractor partially responsible for death of intoxicated pedestrian due to non-functioning street light (Beil v. City of Bridgeview 781 N.E. 2d 555 1St Dist. 2002)
- Sovereign immunity over-turned – State doctors held responsible for failure to admit suicidal patient (Jinkins v Lee 785 N.E. 2nd 914 1st Dist. 2003)
- Employer liable to employee for losing evidence (Schusse v. Pace 779 N.E. 2nd 1st Dist. 2002)