Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP Obtains Defense Verdict In High-Stakes In-Person Jury Trial
Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP attorneys Brett M. Henne and Jacob D. Caudill obtained a defense verdict for trucking company Pleasantview Carting Inc. following a week-long jury trial in the Circuit Court of Lake County, Illinois.In one of the first in-person civil litigation jury trials in Lake County since the COVID-19 pandemic, plaintiff Alfredo Garcia, Jr. asked the jury for over $15 million in lost wages, past and future pain and suffering, loss of a normal life, emotional distress, medical expenses, and disfigurement.
Mr. Garcia alleged that in October 2015 at approximately 5:30 am, he was traveling eastbound on Route 173 near Thelen Sand and Gravel in Antioch, Illinois. As he was accelerating to the 55 mph zone, a tractor-trailer pulled out of Thelen Sand and Gravel in front of him. Mr. Garcia had no time to react and struck the rear side of the trailer. He testified he was unable to see the trailer because there was only two percent of the required retro-reflective taping on the side of the trailer.
Mr. Garcia, a cement finisher on his way to work, was ejected from his vehicle and sustained a subdural hematoma, maxilla fracture and bilateral submandibular subluxation, multiple facial lacerations, left open femur fracture mid-shaft, left intertrochanteric fracture, right tibial plateau fracture, left foot metatarsal dislocation of Lisfranc joint and was hospitalized for two weeks followed by months of rehabilitation.
Swanson, Martin & Bell, LLP attorneys, on behalf of Pleasantview Carting, utilized security camera footage from Thelen Sand and Gravel that captured Mr. Garcia driving approximately 62 miles per hour. They also employed experts who were able to establish that Mr. Garcia failed to yield the right of way based upon time and distance calculations.
