$9.3M Cook County Verdict for 54 Year Old Hispanic Male Killed in Car Crash
A Cook County jury returned a $9,310,563 million verdict on behalf of the family of Luis Ramirez, a 54-year old machine worker who was killed in a head-on collision on September 26, 2007 in Elgin.
CHICAGO, IL, February 25, 2013
A Cook County jury returned a $9,310,563 million verdict on behalf of the family of Luis Ramirez, a 54-year old machine worker who was killed in a head-on collision on September 26, 2007 in Elgin. Ramirez was killed instantly when the car he was driving was struck by a Ford F250 pickup truck pulling a horse trailer which crossed over the center line on U.S. Route 20 in Elgin at 6:00am. The defendant, Susan Jayne, claimed that a phantom semi dump truck made a sudden left turn in front of her truck causing her to cross over the center of the highway and drive directly into on-coming traffic.The defendant failed to persuade the jury that a left turning dump truck was the sole proximate cause of the crash through their accident re-constructionist who claimed that the defendant's response was typical of drivers faced with a sudden lane intrusions.
Plaintiff's counsel established that there was more than sufficient time available for the defendant to avoid any type of a collision and argued that she was simply inattentive and driving too fast for conditions, and that her expert's Perception-Reaction Time analysis was flawed, misplaced and totally inapplicable under the circumstances of this crash.
"We established through compelling "eyewitness" testimony that the defendant had more than sufficient time to take evasive maneuvers to stop, slow and avoid a collision with the turning semi. Moreover, she had options available that did not include crossing the center line and killing an innocent man," according to the family's attorney, Louis Cairo.
"It was quite an honor to represent this very nice family. Their tragic loss has totally changed the fabric of their lives. It was incredibly gratifying to see the jury award them such a just verdict," according to co-counsel, Mike Fisher.
The verdict was returned on February 21, 2013 after 6 days of trial presided over by Judge William Haddad.
GWC is Illinois' largest personal injury and workers' compensation law firm concentrating its practice on catastrophic injury and wrongful death cases.
For more information on this verdict contact Louis Cairo at 312-622-3261 or at lcairo@gwclaw.com.
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