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Representative Cases

Helping Chicago Victims One Case at a Time

Below is a small sample of the settlements, awards, and verdicts which represent the different types of cases that have been handled by The Cavanagh Law Group. The description is not meant to explain all facets of the case, but to provide an idea of the type of clients represented.

Vlachos v. Hungerford, et al. - Settlement: $14,000,000
The family of a 5-year-old Chicago boy was awarded $14 million in a settlement after he suffered a severe brain injury during birth after hospital staff members allegedly mixed up his heart rate with his mother's pulse. The malpractice complaint against Northwestern Memorial Hospital contended the baby was not breathing when he was born and that emergency staffers were not prepared to resuscitate him because of the monitoring error. The 7-minute lapse without oxygen caused the child to suffer from cerebral palsy, leaving his arms and legs paralyzed, according to the complaint. The child will be wheelchair-bound when he gets older and cannot walk, talk or feed himself.

Barnes v. Berry Electric Contracting Company, Inc., et al. - Settlement: $4,100,000
A seventy year old grandmother was driving to the store when her vehicle was broadsided by a truck driven by an employee of Dennis Svec, an employee of Berry Electric. Svec was lost and looking at his Blackberry device when his vehicle entered the intersection. Witnesses testified that Svec ran the red light although one witness disagreed. Mrs. Barnes suffered multiple traumatic injuries including a C4-5 distraction injury and dura tears requiring anterior and posterior fusion surgeries, multiple pelvic fractures requiring external fixation surgery, punctured heart, rib fractures, closed head injury and cranial nerve palsy. The case settled immediately before opening statements one year to the day of the crash. The case was advanced to trial after Mr. Cavanagh took over 30 depositions in twelve months.

Ajmeri v. Illinois Central Railroad Co., et al. - Settlement: $9,100,000
On September 21, 2000, Hanifa Ajmeri of Carol Stream settled her personal injury case for $9.1 million. Hanifa Ajmeri was severely injured in March, 1998 after the car she was riding in collided with a train in DuPage County. Ms. Ajmeri was left with nerve and mild brain damage.

The case stemmed from an accident in Bloomingdale, Illinois, when a car that carried Ajmeri was hit by a train owned by the Illinois Central Railroad Co. At the time of the accident, the train was operated by Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad Co.

According to her attorney, Timothy J. Cavanagh, railroad crossing lights were not visible at the time of the accident due to blizzard-like weather conditions, and the crossing gate for the southbound traffic had been knocked down. The settlement was reached while counsel was picking a jury. The trial was slated to begin that same afternoon.

Hopkins v. Westlake Hospital - Settlement: $7,500,000
A forty-two-year-old mother of three presented at emergency room with chest pain. The hospital staff failed to provide an EKG immediately and provided a drug that sped up the heart. Plaintiff suffered a myocardial infarction and suffered brain damage.

See also: Motor Vehicle Accidents

Police Officer v. Intergovernmental Risk Management Agency - Award: $5,758,495
(Offer: $2,000,000)
A twenty-eight year old female Mundelein police officer was pinned between a limousine and her squad car when a limousine driver rear-ended plaintiff's squad car. Plaintiff suffered a near traumatic amputation of her right leg above the knee, multiple fractures of her left leg and the loss of her unborn seven-week old fetus three weeks after the accident. The 1996 award is the highest reported uninsured motorist award in Illinois history.

See also: Motor Vehicle Accidents

Koning v. Morris - Settlement: $1,000,000
A man drove his Jaguar into a Starbucks Coffee shop striking a table occupied by two women. One of the women suffered neck and shoulder injuries.

See also: Motor Vehicle Accidents

Brown v. Seaberry - Settlement: $1,000,000
A truck crossed the center line crashing into vehicle driven by a young man who suffered traumatic injuries to his left arm.

DeJule v. Solberg - Settlement: $1,000,000
A young man suffered neck injury in a car crash leading to cervical fusion surgery.

Shafer v. Wolin-Levin - Settlement: $3,000,000
A 32-year-old woman suffered an electrical shock in her kitchen because the landlord improperly wired an electrical outlet. The woman received an electric shock when she brushed her right hand across the surface of the microwave in her kitchen. As a result of the shock, Shafer suffers from Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome ("CRPS") in all 4 of her extremities.

The case settled on the eve of trial for $3 million.

See also: Motor Vehicle Accidents

Gost v. Finney - Verdict $208,800
Offer $100,000
A sixteen year-old girl was a passenger in a vehicle involved in a two-car crash. The plaintiff sustained back injury requiring medical treatment which costs eighteen hundred dollars.

See also: Motor Vehicle Accidents

McGill v. G.G. Connections, Inc. - Settlement $1,000,000
Mother and son were killed in a two-vehicle collision when a truck driver ran a red light. The case settled for the full limits of the trucking companies’ insurance policy.

Stalling v. National Railroad Passenger Corporation - Settlement: $1,500,000.00 (for each Defendant)
On January 9, 2001, Becky Stalling operated a minivan in westbound direction on County Line Road with her daughter, Ryan Stalling in the front seat of the van. The minivan approached and entered the Livingston Road crossing and was hit by a southeast bound Amtrak train traveling approximately 79 mph. Both Becky and Ryan sustained traumatic injuries that resulted in immediate death. The Livingston Road crossing was equipped with crossbucks signs and an advance warning sign. The crossing did not have automatic flashing light or gates. The Livingston Road crossing was owned by Union Pacific; the train was operated by Amtrak.

Plaintiff, Gregory Stalling, the surviving father and husband of Ryan and Becky Stalling, respectfully, alleged that the crossing was extra hazardous and Union Pacific was negligent for failing to install automatic flashing lights and gates in light of several recognized crossing risk factors the crossing presented: two buildings obstructing the motorist sight triangle; severe angle between crossing and roadway; multiple tracks; and high speed trains. Plaintiff also alleged Hartman negligently operated the Amtrak train and failed to sound the whistle on approach to the crossing.

Rao v. Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company - Settlement: $400,000.
On April 4, 2001, Timothy J. Cavanagh, filed a against a local railroad company for the death of sixteen year old Arvin Rao. Arvin was a passenger in a car that was struck by a freight train operated by Elgin, Joliet & Eastern Railway Company on April 11, 1999.

The lawsuit alleges that the railroad was negligent for not providing crossing gate arms at the railroad crossing on Illinois Route 34 in Aurora, IL despite the fact that the Illinois Commerce Commission recommended the addition of crossing gate arms in April, 1997, two years before the collision. The lawsuit also alleges that the railroad should have slowed its trains down or provided a flagman at the crossing until the crossing gate arms were provided. Several months after this deadly collision, the railroad finally provided crossing gate arms at the Route 34 crossing.

Byrnes v. Care Centers, Inc. – Settlement: $900,000
The case stems from an incident that occurred at Wheaton Care Center nursing home on April 23, 2002 and resulted in the death of Plaintiff’s decedent, Adrienne Byrnes. Ms. Byrnes death was caused by salicylate toxicity and it is believed that she consumed multiple aspirin tablets while at the Wheaton Care Center nursing home. Plaintiff alleges that Defendants were storing, distributing, and supervising medications at the nursing home.

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