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$5 Million to West African Family of 28-Year-Old Woman Killed in Indiana Crash

A Cook County jury deliberated yesterday until 5:00 P.M. after a three-and-a-half day trial and awarded the Estate of Hawa Sissoko $5 million for her tragic death on May 30, 2007. The trial centered around a high-speed collision involving this young woman who was standing in the middle of the right driving lane on Indiana Toll Road 80/94, behind her stopped vehicle at the Chesterton exit in Indiana. Whether her vehicle was disabled, ran out of gas, had a flat tire,...

Miami Parking Garage Collapse ? First Lawsuit Filed GWC

Four workers were killed in October when a Miami parking structure collapsed on its crew. The construction accident happened at the site of suburban Miami-Dade College's Doral campus, and generated national headlines. The first wrongful death lawsuit related to the construction accident was filed this week. The lawsuit was brought by the family of a construction worker who was driving a cement truck at the time of the collapse. Authorities say that it took about 17 hours to extricate the...

12 Year Sentence For Former Burr Oak Cemetery Director

Last week, Carolyn Towns, the former director of Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois, received a twelve-year prison sentence for her involvement in the cemetery scandal that came to light in the summer of 2009.  Towns pled guilty to six out of the seven felony counts levied against her, including dismembering a human body, damaging over ten gravestones, desecration of human remains, removal of human remains of multiple deceased human beings from a cemetery, conspiracy to dismember multiple human bodies,...

$3.4 Million Settlement for Injured Millwright

GWC attorneys Colin O'Malley and Joseph Sorce today settled the lawsuit for an apprentice millwright injured during the 2005 re-tooling at the Chrysler Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Illinois.Apprentice millwright, James Susan, lost his left hand when he attempted to take a measurement alongside an active conveyor chain. During four years of litigation, the defendants blamed James for failure to lockout/tagout the equipment. Through the investigation, attorneys O'Malley and Sorce established an ongoing work pattern of job assignments when millwrights were...

Illinois Law Firm Secures Multi-Million-Dollar Verdicts and Settlements

The Illinois injury lawyers at GWC Injury Lawyers prove once again that when commitment and preparation meet skill and passion, great things happen for their injury clients. The Illinois Trial Lawyers' Association recently featured two noteworthy results, achieved by GWC lawyers, which underscore this concept:The two featured cases are Goldstein and the Estate of Jaime Jones. Louis Cairo and Scott Weisman tried the Goldstein case, while Cairo and partner Colin O'Malley settled the Estate of Jaime Jones case during the...

Truck Driver Killed In Bensenville, IL Workplace Accident

Alexian Brothers Medical Center following a trucking accident in Bensenville, Illinois. According to the Chicago Tribune, the man was performing a safety check of his rig at Vitran Express (651 Thorndale in Bensenville) when he became pinned between the door of his truck and a loading area post. Vitran Express is a Canadian based corporation that provides expedited freight services to both the United States and Canada.The medical examiner's office has ruled the man's death an accident but it is...

Americans with Disabilities Act protects workers after an injury

When Illinois residents agree to work for a company, often the agreement specifies that the worker is an at-will employee. That means the employer can terminate the worker's employment at any time, given that the reason for termination is legal. Likewise, under an at-will agreement, the employee can strike or otherwise quit working at any point. But remember this: an employer cannot fire an at-will employee for just any reason. Again, the reason has to be legal. And it is...

NFL Punter Earns Workers’ Compensation After Career Ending Injury

Many Chicago Bears fans will know the name Tom Tupa well -- the longtime NFL punter, whose 17-year career came to an abrupt end in 2005, has been granted workers' compensation for an injury he suffered that year while practicing. Tupa was preparing for a preseason game in 2005, and while he was out on the field practicing punts, he landed awkwardly. He felt something in his back and quickly sought medical attention. Tupa never played in the NFL again....

Report Highlights Chicago Area Workers Death

A disturbing workplace accident that occurred in the Chicago area was highlighted in a recent report by the Center for Progressive Reform. In general, the report recommends that OSHA increase efforts to protect temporary or contingent employees who are unduly used for dangerous or undesirable jobs. Companies often hire these workers to avoid having to pay workers' compensation or insurance costs.In the Chicago-area case, a man employed by a temporary staffing company was working in a Raani Corporation plant in...