Baker Sterchi attorney Joe Swift obtained a favorable verdict for a trucking client, one of the nation’s leading flatbed trucking companies, and its driver, in a personal injury action tried in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. Originally filed in Cook County, Illinois, plaintiff’s petition alleged his vehicle was stopped on I-70 Highway due to a traffic backup, when our client’s semi-tractor trailer violently struck his vehicle from behind. Our clients’ dash camera (capturing both inward and outward views) showed 9 seconds of driver inattention and a violent crash. Plaintiff further alleged the crash caused him to suffer lumbar and cervical surgeries resulting in total disability, future lost wages of over $1.5M and medical specials of over $165,000. Our clients admitted liability at the trial, which was conducted under the court’s COVID-19 Plan; it is tough to read faces through a mask. The jury returned a verdict below the medical specials proven by plaintiff.
