Case Results

Over the course of our decades of serving injured people in the Chicago Metropolitan Area and throughout Illinois, we have recovered many substantial verdicts and settlements. Here are a few examples, organized by type of case.

• Premises liability
• Products liability
• Medical malpractice
• Workers’ compensation
• Motor vehicle accidents

Premises Liability Verdicts And Settlements

Below are brief summaries of premises liability cases that we have resolved for past clients.

• $67,000,000 verdict for a worker who suffered burn injuries when a grain bin exploded at a ConAgra, Inc. facility in Chester, Illinois.
• $24,250,000 settlement for an ironworker rendered quadriplegic as a result of a 50-foot fall.
• $22,000,000 combined settlement for seven masons injured when a masonry wall collapsed during construction due to high winds and the failure to properly brace the wall during construction.
• $20,937,000 verdict for an ironworker whose arm was severed by a 550-lb steel beam falling from a crane on a construction site. The arm was surgically re-attached but will not be fully functional.
• $20,000,000 settlement for a laborer who was paralyzed when a wall collapsed.
• $12,000,000 settlement for a visitor at McCormick Place who fell down stairs that were improperly designed and constructed.
• $11,700,000 landmark settlement for a client who lost the use of both legs and one arm in a fall while walking down a flight of stairs at McCormick Place. Our firm’s unique strategy on damages involved providing a fully handicap-accessible home for the client.
• Successfully represented a welder denied benefits for Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD).
• $11,287,500 settlement for a worker paralyzed when falling construction materials struck him at the waist.
• $10,000,000 settlement for a construction worker who fell through a floor decking opening and suffered a brain injury.
• $9,250,000 for an ironworker who suffered mild brain damage and a neck injury that required a cervical fusion from a fall while setting structural steel.
• $8,000,000 combined settlement for a carpenter who was knocked off a wall by a crane during a residential construction project and rendered paraplegic.
• $7,820,000 settlement for a female construction worker who suffered the amputation of her arm when her arm became entangled in the gears of a crane due to the defective design of the safety guard.
• $7,500,000 settlement on behalf of a union roofer who suffered a spinal fracture in a fall at a job site.
• $7,173,000 record jury verdict for an ironworker whose ankle was crushed when a steel I-beam fell over onto his leg due to unsafe ground conditions.
• $6,700,000 settlement in the wrongful death of an ironworker due to construction negligence.
• $6,700,000 verdict in the wrongful death of a worker due to construction negligence.

• $6,500,000 settlement for two factory workers injured when a portion of the plant they were working in exploded.
• $6,500,000 settlement for two ironworkers injured when a portion of the building they were constructing fell on them.
• $5,200,000 settlement for a union painter killed when his scaffold collapsed.
• $5,200,000 settlement for a union pipefitter killed when his scaffold collapsed.
• $5,100,000 settlement for an ironworker who suffered a fracture and cognitive and speech disorders as the result of a head injury when a crane boom fell on him.
• $4,500,000 settlement – the full limits of insurance – for the wrongful death of an ironworker.
• $4,500,000 settlement for an apprentice ironworker who became paraplegic and subsequently died as the result of a fall while setting decking during the construction of a distribution center.
• $4,250,000 verdict for an ironworker who was impaled by a piece of rebar when he fell from the steel.
• $4,065,000 settlement for an ironworker who suffered a foot injury that developed into reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) when a bar joist fell on him as a result of improper ground conditions.
• $3,800,000 verdict for a pipefitter who was burned in an underground storage-tank explosion.
• Substantial undisclosed settlement in the traumatic sexual assault of a 79-year-old nursing home resident where the parties and the amount of settlement are subject to a confidentiality order.
• $3,500,000 settlement for the death of a construction worker who fell from a building during construction as a result of improper safeguards and inadequate fall protection.
• $3,300,000 settlement for an ironworker who fractured both ankles in a 20-foot fall.
• $3,242,000 record jury verdict for a carpenter who severely injured an ankle in a construction accident.
• $3,200,000 settlement for a union ironworker who suffered extensive nerve damage on his dominant right arm while installing rebar in an unsafe work area.
• $1,500,000 verdict for a woman injured by a falling paperplate display at Kmart.
• $1,250,000 settlement for an ironworker who slipped on a conduit that was not properly secured to the deck.
• $1,200,000 verdict for a dock worker who was struck by a chock which had been thrown up in the air by a forklift operator; he was thrown into a pile of steel and suffered a herniated cervical disc.
• $1,122,000 verdict for a truck driver who was injured when picking up waste materials from a manufacturer who failed to provide a safe environment for the waste disposal pick-up area. This verdict was upheld through appeals to the Illinois Supreme Court.
• $1,100,000 settlement for an ironworker who received a fractured ankle when a beam stored on uneven ground rolled onto the worker.
• $1,052,337.96 settlement in a construction negligence case for a carpenter who slipped on his scaffold and suffered an aggravation to his lower back after the job site became wet when a water main had broken.
• $1,050,000 settlement for an ironworker who suffered low-back injuries when he slipped on ice while welding.
• $792,000 verdict for a painter who injured his knee when he tripped on poor ground conditions at the job site; the offer prior to the jury trial was only $70,000.
• $750,000 settlement for a woman who injured her foot while sitting in a beauty salon chair. Plaintiff discharged her previous attorney who recommended that she accept the insurance company’s $25,000 offer.
• $650,000 settlement for a dancer with the Joffrey Ballet who injured his neck when a portion of the ceiling in the rehearsal studio fell on him.
• $407,545 Jury verdict for an accountant who was injured when she tripped over a crack on a city sidewalk. The offer was $4,000.00 prior to trial.
• Verdict of more than $260,000 for a young teenager whose calf was severely lacerated on the edge of metal bleachers placed by an outdoor basketball court at the Chicago Park District. The Appellate Court upheld the verdict and agreed that the Plaintiff proved the Park District’s conduct was willful and wanton.
• $240,000 Settlement for a pedestrian who fell into a 6 ft. hole on a construction site because the site was not fenced off and the hole was not barricaded.
• $195,000 Settlement for a truck driver injured when a dock worker who was operating a forklift to unload our client’s truck dropped a storage bin from the forks of the forklift and the bin struck our client.
• $100,000 Arbitration Award for a water delivery man injured while making a delivery when he fell down a staircase that was in despair.
• Verdict for the Plaintiff in federal court involving a fall down a stairway. Our client claimed someone left a cardboard tray on the stairs that caused him to fall. After the court ruled in our client’s favor on liability issues, the government agreed to settle the case.

Products Liability Verdicts And Settlements

Below are brief summaries of products liability cases that we have resolved for past clients.

• $11,700,000 settlement for a man rendered triplegic after a fall on a stairway with a defective handrail.
• $7,820,000 settlement for a female construction worker who suffered the amputation of her arm when her arm became entangled in the gears of a crane due to defective design of the safety guard.
• $6,700,000 settlement for a construction worker crippled while working with a crane that had defective brake drums and cables.
• $6,500,000 settlement for two factory workers injured when a portion of the plant they were working in exploded.
• $3,650,000 settlement for a construction worker who lost his leg during the installation of a jetway that had defective support at O’Hare Airport.
• $1,750,000 settlement for a student who had suffered a severe concussion when an inflatable amusement ride malfunctioned at a post-high school prom event.
• More than $1,000,000 settlement for a construction worker injured when he was electrified when the boom of a crane came into contact with a power line and no proximity warning system was in place.
• $1,500,000 settlement for a construction worker injured while descending a defectively designed ladder.
• $1,417,000 settlement for a Commonwealth Edison electrician burned in a substation explosion caused by a defective switch.
• $1,210,000 settlement on behalf of a construction worker who was killed as a result of defective construction equipment, a manlift.
• $1,000,000 settlement for man who struck his eye on a truck cap that was unreasonably dangerous due to a defective design.
• $900,000 verdict for a road construction worker injured when he was struck by a concrete spreading machine on a job site.
• $798,000 verdict in a case that involved a space heater that had short-circuited and shocked the plaintiff.
• $450,000 verdict for a millwright who fractured his wrist when a torque wrench broke.
• $250,000 settlement in addition to waiver of Workers’ Compensation Lien for patient care technician injured when overhead medical equipment fell the from hospital ceiling above her and she was forced to grab the equipment and hold it to prevent it from striking a patient and her co-worker.

Medical Malpractice Verdicts And Settlements

Below are brief summaries of medical malpractice cases that we have resolved for past clients:

• $18,000,000 settlement in a medical malpractice case involving the traumatic birth of a baby boy who was deprived of oxygen during labor and delivery, which resulted in the baby being born with cerebral palsy of the spastic quadriplegic type.
• $6,000,000 settlement for the negligent management of a baby’s breathing tube that resulted in severe brain injury.
• $5,000,000 settlement in a medical malpractice case involving a patient’s suicide at a hospital.
• $4,500,000 settlement for a brain-damaged baby resulting from misdiagnosed spinal meningitis.
• $4,500,000 settlement in a medical malpractice action on behalf of a 63-year-old man who suffered a severe and permanent kidney injury due to his doctor’s failure to properly monitor and respond to increasing warning signs of kidney damage.
• $4,000,000 verdict in Lake County, Illinois, for the death of a two-year-old girl as a result of medical negligence for the failure to diagnose meningitis. The medical personnel responsible for the child’s care misinterpreted a bruise, which can be a telltale sign of spinal meningitis, as child abuse.
• $3,370,000 verdict and ultimate settlement for a man who bled to death because the city of Chicago failed to respond to an emergency 911 call and dispatch an ambulance.
• $3,100,000 settlement for a little girl suffering brain damage following complications from cardiac surgery.
• $3,000,000 settlement for the traumatic birth of a baby due to the failure to perform a cesarean section delivery in a timely manner.
• Record jury verdict of $2,756,411.82 in a medical malpractice case for a baby girl who suffered an injury to her middle finger following a C-section delivery.
• $2,750,000 settlement for the wrongful death of a woman caused by giving her the wrong blood.
• $2,000,000 settlement – the full limits of insurance – for the wrongful death of a newborn who mistakenly received 10 times the required dose of digoxin from a pharmacy.
• $2,000,000 settlement – the full limits of insurance – for the wrongful death of a man who died after surgery for a penile implant.
• $1,950,000 medical malpractice settlement for the wife and three children of a cancer patient who died due to the failure to diagnose and treat the condition.
• $1,750,000 verdict for the failure to repair a torn aorta caused by an automobile collision in a timely manner, resulting in the death of a woman.
• $1,750,000 settlement for the death of a six-month-old girl who died after a pharmacy improperly filled her prescription for heart medication.
• $1,500,000 settlement for the family of a Polish immigrant who died after a neighborhood clinic failed to provide the proper care when he complained of chest pains.
• Wrongful death/medical malpractice settlement for a 58-year-old man injured in a car collision. We alleged that the anesthesiologist failed to properly and timely respond to a dangerous drop in blood pressure during the administration of pain medication. The case settled for $900,000.
• $875,000 verdict against a surgeon for the failure to properly diagnose and remove an acoustic neuroma.
• $600,000 settlement with resident physicians and a hospital for the death of an 11-day-old infant caused by negligence during the delivery.

Workers’ Compensation Verdicts And Settlements

Below Are brief summaries of Workers’ Compensation cases we have resolved for past clients.

• $12,000,000 settlement. Successfully settled a complex case in favor of a catastrophically injured ironworker facing myriad insurance and Medicare issues. Substantial workers’ compensation insurance funds were obtained to provide a handicap-accessible home and vehicle for the client and his family.
• $645,000 settlement. Totally disputed the case of a laborer who had an unwitnessed fall off a ladder and sustained a brain injury.
• $525,000 award and settlement for a Local one ironworker whose foreman (and uncle) testified against him, claiming no notice of an injury was given. Through phone records and through the impeachment of the testimony of the company’s workers’ compensation administrator, the firm obtained an award in excess of $250,000, including $125,000 in penalties and fees. The claim was then later settled for an additional $275,000.
• $500,000 award for an ironworker who suffered a second career-ending injury in the same occupation, which involved defending in the Appellate Court against an employer’s appeal of the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission’s original decision in favor of our client.
• Established the medical relationship between the injury of a union millwright who caught a 110-pound steel beam as it fell from its perch and the one-in-a-million diagnosis of his condition. The total settlement exceeded $450,000 in new money to the client.
• John Popelka settled a Workers’ Compensation claim on behalf of an Assistant Project Manager for $425,000 and established a $485,000 Medicare “set-aside” Trust. Our client had developed R.S.D. following a meniscal surgery to his knee.
• $335,000 lump sum settlement for a truck driver who was severely injured after being run over at a gas station.
• $324,000 settlement for a worker who injured his lower back and aggravated a previous injury that required two surgeries.
• More than $300,000 award in a difficult-to-win case of a school administrator who died as a result of mental stress.
• $287,800 settlement for an ironworker who, after injury, required surgery. He underwent vocational rehabilitation and found suitable and appropriate employment; the settlement included $10,000 in a fund for future medical expenses.
• $275,000 settlement for a laborer who was unable to return to her former occupation as a result of her injuries.
• $250,000 lump-sum settlement for a union ironworker with a knee injury requiring an arthroscopic procedure.
• $250,000 settlement for a Local #1 ironworker with a knee and back injury.
• $242,000 settlement for a union ironworker injured while lifting rebar and unable to return to his former occupation.
• $225,000 settlement and agreement for lifetime medical care for a business executive who incurred reflex sympathetic dystrophy following an injection at work. The employer had paid close to a million dollars in weekly and medical benefits prior to the settlement.
• $222,500 settlement for an electrician with an operated shoulder.
• $215,000 received prior to the settlement, which was used to build a handicap-accessible home for a union ironworker who became paralyzed after a fall. The insurance carrier also provided transportation by purchasing a fully handicap-accessible van.
• $200,000+ award for a union carpenter injured in a fall. He had initially been denied benefits by the workers’ compensation carrier because of a pre-existing condition.
• More than a $200,000 award in the difficult case of a construction worker injured in a fall but denied Workers’ Compensation because his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit at the time of the accident. Despite a vigorous defense, we presented compelling evidence, including a medical expert which proved that the worker’s impairment was not sufficient to deny his claim.
• $195,000 received prior to settlement solely for the cost of a new handicap-accessible home for an ironworker who became wheelchair-bound after a fall at a construction site. In addition, a fully handicap-accessible van was obtained for the individual at the expense of the insurance company.
• $190,000 received for a union electrician who sustained a tendon and nerve injury to his thumb.
• $125,000 in penalties and fees on behalf of an ironworker who injured his lower back at work and whose employer improperly denied the claim.
• $65,000 award. Expanded a $42,000 award, including penalties and attorneys’ fees, to $65,000 in the Circuit Court of Cook County after the insurance company unilaterally refused to pay the full $42,000 award it believed to be excessive, despite the fact it chose not to file an appeal. The Circuit Court was persuaded to apply the underpayment first to the penalty and attorneys’ fee award and then impose additional penalties and fees on the remainder, thus avoiding the common law prohibition of ‘penalties on penalties.’
• Prevailed against the workers’ compensation insurance carrier which had denied the claim of a painter injured when a scissors lift toppled. However, as the owner of the painting firm, the injured party had opted out of Workers’ Compensation insurance coverage. We proved that in the performance of his duties, he was acting as a covered employee, not as the owner who had opted out.
• Successfully argued the claim for wage differential payments based on journeyman’s pay scale vs. the apprentice pay rate, even though the injured worker was an apprentice at the time he suffered the career-ending injury, he had completed the classes and testing required for journeyman status.
• Award of permanent total disability benefits for Local 111 ironworker injured during a bridge repair in Moline, Illinois.

Motor Vehicle Accident Verdicts And Settlements

• $7,515,000 verdict for a motorcyclist partially paralyzed as a result of the negligence of a village in failing to properly maintain a road sign.
• $3,200,000 verdict in a wrongful death action involving a railroad crossing in Will County, Illinois.
• $2,800,000 verdict for a motorcyclist who suffered multiple fractures after sliding under a pickup truck that pulled in front of the motorcycle.