Fatal Illinois Highway Accident Case Settles for $5 Million - Estate of Heinz v. Messel, et al.
An Illinois wrongful death case recently settled in Will County for $5 million. The case was brought by the estate of a 57 year-old married mother of two adult children after she was killed in an Illinois auto accident. Estate of Heinz v. Messel, et al., No. 07 L 0090.
The highway crash took place on I-55, a highway connecting Chicago to St. Louis. The decedent driver was traveling northbound on the highway in the area of the Plainfield Township when a car driving southbound crossed the grassy median separating the different directions of traffic and crashed into the woman's vehicle. The head-on crash caused the decedent's car to flip over and land in a ditch off to the side of the highway.
An investigation of the accident revealed that the at fault driver was intoxicated at the time of the Illinois car crash. Whenever an Illinois car accident involves a DUI, the Illinois state's attorney can bring his/her own criminal charges against the offending driver. Under Illinois law, a person may be deemed intoxicated if their blood alcohol content (BAC) is measured at .08 or higher. Presumably some sort of action was taken in response to the fatal car accident; however, the criminal action would have been completely separate from the civil action involving the wrongful death claims.
The personal injury claim arose from a car crash that occurred in Elgin, Illinois. Khourny was driving along Route 31 when she was hit by another car. The
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The events leading to the case began in 2005 when Perez's boyfriend, Baeza, was driving them home from a quinceaƱera, i.e. a coming of age celebration for a 15 year-old girl. Baeza had been drinking and was speeding along when his car left the roadway and struck a tree. He was later charged with an aggravated DUI.
While typically an Appellate Court will not overturn a jury's monetary awards since this is "an issue of fact for the jury to determine". Typically a jury's verdict awards will only be overturned if a party shows that the jury obviously ignored an established element of damages, that the award does not relate to the loss suffered, or if the verdict was the result of prejudice.
In Illinois, the amount of damages awarded is typically left up to the jury's discretion. The jury is given judge-approved jury instructions so that the jury can make an informed decision regarding its verdict. Oftentimes if a party disagrees with the verdict their appeal focuses on the content of these jury instructions. For example, in
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As a result of the
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In November 2006 when the minors were drinking beer in the Illinois family's home, the wife was present and apparently allowed the underage drinking. The lawsuit alleged that the parents had a duty to supervise the activities in their own home. The familyās younger daughter had invited the two minor boys to their home where they proceeded to drink. The lawsuit asserted a negligence claim alleging that the family adults had several opportunities to stop the teens from drinking, but did not.
In 2005, the
One way to stem the increase in passenger injuries and deaths could be an increase or stricter enforcement of regulations in place to protect the traveling public. Poor reinforcement of the current regulatory structure has resulted in an environment where a bus company and its drivers operate freely without any fear of consequence.
New Year's Eve is a time to celebrate the coming of 2009. Restaurants and bars in Chicago and nationwide are lively as many celebrate the holiday and the arrival of the new year with drinks and merriment. It is easy to imagine that New Yearās Eve is a risky time for drivers and pedestrians in Illinois and the rest of the states.
A recent
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