Summary Judgment for Defendant in Negligence Action Where Hazard was Open and Obvious- Deliberate Encounter Exception Did Not Apply in Swearingen v. Momentive Specialty Chemicals
The Illinois Appellate Court recently examined a landowner's duty to warn visitors of an open and obvious hazard in Paul T. Swearingen v. Momentive Specialty Chemicals, Inc., No. 11-2088 (December 7, 2011). The personal injury claim examines whether a company and its employees owed a duty to a truck driver to warn him against the danger presented by a low hanging fire extinguisher system.
In March 2010, the plaintiff, Paul Swearingen, was working as a tanker truck driver for Transport Service Co. During the course of his employment, Swearingen delivered a tank of chemicals to a Momentive Specialty Chemicals facility located in Carpentersville, Illinois. After parking his truck in Momentive's unloading bay, one of the Momentive employees asked Swearingen to open his truck's dome.
Swearingen reports that he climbed his truck's ladder to access the dome opening, at which point he noted some low hanging piping located a few feet above the truck's dome. The piping was bright red and was reportedly part of Momentive's fire extinguisher system. Swearingen proceeded to climb on top of his tanker, at which point he struck his head on the piping and fell off his truck. Swearingen filed a personal injury lawsuit against Momentive in which he claimed the chemical facility was responsible for his injuries.
An Illinois truck accident case was reviewed by the Illinois Appellate Court to determine whether or not the trial court had erred in its delivery of jury instructions and whether the jury had awarded too much damages. However, after reviewing the case facts, the appellate court upheld the trial court proceedings and eventual verdict in 
An Illinois jury awarded $1.7 million to the surviving family members of a man who was hit by a semi-tractor trailer; Estate of Edward Kolodzik v. Cesar Castillo, VBD Transport, Inc., MLP Transport, Inc., No. 04 L 3715. While the decedent, Edward Kolodzik, survived the crash, he died five years later, allegedly from complications arising from the 
The accident occurred in June 2008, at the intersection of Kostner Ave. and 16th Street in Chicago between two buses. Charles Comer was driving a 
The 
At 3:30 a.m. on the date of the accident, defendant Gary Collier was driving a tractor-trailer owned by 
In February 2008, Denise Ponto was driving along Route 2 in Dixon, Illinois when Dale Levan's vehicle crossed the lane of traffic and crashed into Ponto's vehicle. As a result, Ms. Ponto sustained a comminuted knee fracture and needed to be airlifted to Rockford's St. Anthony Hospital for treatment. A 
The Illinois intersection accident occurred in Matteson, Illinois at the intersection of Harlem Avenue and Lincoln Highway. At the time of the car accident, Villa's vehicle was attempting to make a left turn onto Lincoln Highway when it was struck by a propane truck owned by 
One of the avenues the NTSB is pursuing is whether or not the truck driver's judgment was impaired by drugs or alcohol at the time of the 
In Timothy McDonald and Judith McDonald v. Imperial Zinc Corp., et al., No. 09 L 1581, the plaintiff truck driver sued a manufacturing company after one of its employee's negligence caused plaintiff's work place injury. At the time of the personal injury, Timothy McDonald was loading his truck with goods from 
Like many companies across America, UPS employees are under pressure to increase productivity; however, at the same time UPS is pushing employees to reduce workplace injuries and 
Immediately prior to the 
At the time of the 
The 
The decedent, Richard Berry, was a partner in his own firm and had been practicing law in Illinois since the mid-1970s. Mr. Berry was widely respected in the legal community and was known to be a very capable trial lawyer. The 
About five months after this truck and pickup 
In 2007, the plaintiff, Starr Frohlich, was driving southbound on Interstate-94 near Libertyville, Illinois. Motorist William Gordon was traveling slightly ahead of Ms. Frohlich and had his bicycle hitched to his vehicle by way of a bike rack manufactured by 
The 
In January, 2005, Richard Santos was driving on Interstate 90 with his two-year old daughter, Amanda, in the passenger seat. The Santos' vehicle was approaching an Illinois toll plaza when it was rear-ended by the defendant, Wayne Garfoot, who was driving a tractor-trailer truck. The truck drove over the car, crushing and killing two-year old Amanda. Garfoot also died as a result of the 
When there is an issue of comparative fault or negligence, i.e. that the plaintiff's own negligence also contributed to his or her injuries, Illinois juries are instructed to consider the degree of fault when coming to a decision on a 
The 
On July 8, 2006, the Tucker vehicle was stopped on Western Avenue in the City of Chicago just north of Berwyn Avenue. It was then that the Tucker car was rear-ended by the tow truck being driven by defendant Christopher Maness. The tow truck was owned and maintained by Hollywood Towing Inc. which was also a defendant in this case. 
The three tractor-trailers were driving in a convoy format, heading northbound on an Illinois highway. At the time of the 
The plaintiff, Ortiz, was a mechanic working at a railroad yard on Chicago's South Side. While working on the defendant Karabegovic's truck, Ortiz was severely injured after being dragged for 30 feet underneath the moving truck. As a result of this incident, Ortiz sustained multiple fractures and severe nerve damage to his leg, which left him with a permanent foot drop. The 33 year-old Ortiz is no longer able to work as a mechanic as a result of the injury
In Shinaberry, an out-of-state truck driver was struck by another truck in an 
The plaintiff suffered an acetabular fracture in the 
The Illinois Supreme Courts decision overturned the 
The operator of the van, the plaintiff, sustained cervical and lumbar spine damage that required multiple-level fusion surgery. The defendant who ran the red light at that intersection argued that the plaintiff’s injuries were due to a prior 
The surviving truck driver was not fluent in English and admittedly could not read English. The truck driver therefore was unable to read highway signs warning drivers that an accident had occurred up ahead and advising them to slow down. The truck driver did not slow down and crashed into the rear end of the decedent's pick-up truck, which was then propelled forwarded and pinned against the median wall. The decedent was trapped in the vehicle as it ignited in flames. 
In the 2004 
The 
However, a recent settlement in a 
In order to increase the safety of its highways 
Fortunately, when an accident involves a truck there is often an Engine Control Module (ECM), commonly known as a black box, to help establish what happened during the trucking accident. The data stored on the black box can be downloaded to serve as undisputed evidence of the crash events. 
The truck driver was behind the wheel of a 2005 Freightliner loaded with scrap aluminum. According to reports the truck driver was on his cell phone at the time of the incident. Apparently the truck driver was distracted by his cell phone when he ran into and over a line of ten vehicles that were backed up on eastbound Highway 40 West of Interstate 270 in St. Louis County. 
In the last five years, the US government has uncovered licensing fraud in 24 states, including Illinois. Thousands of truck drivers nationwide have received licenses under suspicious circumstances. One licensing scheme involves third-party examiners who the state hires to perform the driver testing for truckers. 
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. 
It had been argued that Zurich should be obligated to provide co-primary insurance coverage because it issued a trucker’s insurance policy to Rose Services. Zurich argued that coverage was barred because a reciprocal coverage provision in its policy meant that unless it provided coverage to Franklin, Zurich was not obligated to provide coverage to Key. 
Based on State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. v. Universal Underwriters Group, 182 Ill.2d 240 (1998), the First District Court reversed a ruling for 
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 Year’s Eve is a risky time for drivers and pedestrians in Illinois and the rest of the states. 
A recent 
For example, consider a Missouri case of Sam and his aunt Sandra [Back v. Winfield-Fire Protection Dist., No. SC 89001 (Mo. banc 2008)]. Sandra owns an automobile, but does not have a driving license, whereas her nephew, Sam, does. So when Sandra needs to go to a meeting she recruits Sam to drive her. On the way to her meeting Sam rear ended a fire truck that was partially parked in his lane with its emergency lights on. 
Any time a car is involved in a truck accident the results can be disastrous, as they were here. No matter how safe and reliable your car is, when it's up against a tractor-trailer the odds are against you. 
