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 trial court upheld the defendant's right to arbitrate and denied plaintiff's request for a jury trial. This arbitration clause issue was recently ruled on by the Illinois Supreme Court in 
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The review of the complaint in this lawsuit was prompted by the defense filing a Motion to Dismiss pursuant to the Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Under the Federal Rule 12(b)(6), the Court examines the Complaint to ensure it satisfies the following requirements:
The recent Illinois settlement was reached between the family of a child and the daycare center where the toddler had been placed at. The settlement was reached after it was determined that the daycare had violated an Illinois law that stated that two daycare workers were required to be in the center's toddler room at all times. 
In any 
However, sometimes this is not the reality, in which case an 
Decedent Patricia Quirk was diagnosed with stage three endometrial cancer and received all of her radiation treatments at 
This concept is illustrated by a recent 
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. 
The decedent was tragically killed when an 85 year-old man mistakenly accelerated instead of braking, crashing his Chrysler Sebring into a Subway sandwich shop at a busy Chicago intersection. The decedent was killed when the driver's vehicle slammed into the store and pinned the patron between the car and the restaurant counter. 
The decedent had undergone regular annual exams with his internist, which each year included an electrocardiogram (EKG) that was performed by the internist. EKGs are typically used to analyze a patient's heart rhythm and identify any abnormalities. The internist interpreted all of the decedent's EKGs from 1998 to 2002 to be normal. 
In the complaint, the decedent's estate claimed that the medical providers had failed to recognize a leak at the surgical site in a timely manner, and that this failure constituted 
On the day of the 
The Chicago lawsuit claimed that the hospital's nursing staff discharged the patient despite her continued symptoms of nausea, severe abdominal pain, and faintness following surgery to treat her endometriosis. The woman returned to the hospital within less than 24 hours after her discharge, this time with complaints of extreme pain. She was prescribed an antibiotic, but it was not actually administered to her until 8 hours after it was ordered. Furthermore, the cause of her severe pain was not discovered for over 18 hours after she returned to the emergency room, depleting even more crucial hours in this woman's care. 
Many drivers forget that automobiles and motorcycles function very differently and each have their own strengths and weaknesses. While a motorcycle is quick and easy to maneuver through traffic, it is also difficult to see. Whereas while it is hard to avoid seeing an SUV, it does have the disadvantage of being difficult to maneuver. 
The case involved a 13 year-old girl who had presented to her physician with sinusitis, which the physician failed to diagnose. Following the bench trial, Judge Dow concluded that had the sinusitis been diagnosed that it probably would not have developed into bacterial meningitis, which would have increased her chance of survival. 
The decedent's estate claimed that the Alexian Brothers emergency room physician had misread a chest x-ray taken of the decedent. However, the same film was correctly interpreted by a radiologist the following day as showing a lesion on his lung. The hospital failed to notify the decedent regarding the discrepancy in the interpretation. The decedent's family physician became involved in the malpractice after receiving a faxed copy of the correctly interpreted radiology report, but still failed to notify the patient of the relevant findings. 
Prior to the passing of the recent amendment, wrongful death victims were only allowed to recover for pecuniary losses such as the loss of decedent's society. Under the loss of society claim the plaintiff may claim damages for the loss of the benefits from the decedent's love, affection, care, attention, companionship, comfort, guidance and protection. 
I remember the first conversation I had with the decedent's husband, which took place shortly after her sudden death. During that conversation we discussed whether or not an autopsy should have been ordered. In my opinion whenever the cause of death seems unclear or suspicious it is wise to have an autopsy performed. However, in this case the woman's surviving family members opted not to get an autopsy done. 
In 2003, the resident, Dorothy Lawrence, began living at Beverly Manor Nursing Home in St. Joseph, Missouri. At the time Lawrence's daughter, Phyllis Skoglund, had power of attorney for her mother and signed the contract with the nursing home on behalf of the resident. 
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. 
The suit claimed that the City of Chicago and its two officers violated the children's right to substantive due process under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The issue before the court was whether an 
Joshua Flax was in the back seat of the minivan when it was rear-ended. The impact caused the front seat to collapse and its passenger to strike Joshua in the head, fracturing his skull. No other passengers were seriously injured and all parties agreed that Joshua was only fatally injured because of the 
