Date: 09-10-2009
Case Style: Andrzej Chraca v. Illinois Department of Transportation and Steve Miles
Case Number:
Judge:
Court: Circuit Court, Cook County, Illinois
Plaintiff's Attorney: Martin Healy, Jr. and Dave Huber, The Healy Law Firm, Chicago, Illinois
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: On April 19, 2004, Andrzej Chraca, the son of Polish immigrants, was driving southbound on Wright Blvd. near the intersection of South Frontage Road for the Elgin O’Hare Expressway in Schaumburg. At the same time, Steve Miles, a state I.D.O.T. employee was driving eastbound on South Frontage Road. Both drivers claimed they entered the intersection on a green light and both drivers sued each other.
Miles struck Chraca’s vehicle in the middle of the intersection. As a result of the collision, Chraca suffered a T-12 burst fracture which rendered him an incomplete paraplegic. He is unable to walk without leg braces and the use of canes or a walker. Chraca generally uses a wheelchair to move around.
Miles suffered a cervical vertebrae fracture and partial paralysis to the right side of his body and both lower extremities. He also suffered a mild traumatic brain injury. Neither has returned to work.
Chraca filed suit against Miles and subsequently Miles filed suit against Chraca and his employer, United Woodworking. The trials were consolidated and presented to the same jury. At trial, both parties testified they had the green light when they entered the intersection.
Schaumburg police officers after conducting an investigation and reconstruction indicated they could not determine which driver was at fault.
6 eyewitnesses to the accident were presented. All of the eyewitnesses testified that they did not see one or both of the vehicles prior to the impact, and several witnesses testified that, from what they observed, the vehicles were not being driven in the directions claimed by the drivers. The final eyewitness testified that the light for northbound Wright was red.
The Chraca SUV was the only southbound vehicle in the large intersection at the time of the impact. 3 other southbound vehicles which had been waiting for the light had not entered the intersection, but the witnesses agreed that the southbound traffic light turned green before the impact. Both parties alleged that the other drive was either timing the red light or accelerated to beat the red light.
Outcome: The jury found Chraca 5% comparatively negligent, based on the fact that Chraca was driving over the posted speed limit at the time of the accident, reducing the award to $23,838,668. The verdict of $25,093,335 is the highest verdict for a paraplegic in Cook County. The second highest paraplegic verdict in Cook County, $24 million, was also obtained by the Healy Law Firm, in 2002.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
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