Will County Jury Finds in Favor of the Plaintiff in an Automobile Accident that Resulted in the Amputation of the Plaintiff’s Arm

The November 2010 edition of Chicago’s Law Bulletin highlighted several recent jury verdicts in Illinois.  One of particular interest involved a case tried in Will County, before Judge Susan T O’Leary.  John Kirkton, of the Law Bulletin writes:

"On June 21, 2005 James Gron’s Dodge Neon, which was traveling northbound on Route 30 in Oswego, was sideswiped by defendant’s southbound gravel dump truck at a curve in the road. Allegedly, the truck crossed over the center line. James (25), who had been driving with his left arm resting on the car’s window ledge, suffered near total amputation of the arm during the collision, and underwent multiple reconstructive surgeries. The defense maintained, supported by testimony from an Oswego police officer, that it was plaintiff who had crossed the center line. However, on February 19, 2010 the jury returned a net verdict of $1,060,462 for James, plus $33,120 to his wife Kitty for loss of services—but nothing for her loss of society."

Although auto-accidents are often litigated in the Illinois court system, this case is unusual for several reasons.  To begin with, amputations are fairly rare in traffic crash cases.  In addition, the courts ruled in favor of the plaintiff, despite the fact that his arm was resting outside of the vehicle.  However, the jury found the defendant to be liable for the injuries of the plaintiff, and did not find the plaintiff to be contributorily negligent.