After a week at trial, Robert A. Clifford and Kevin P. Durkin, partners at Clifford Law Offices, along with associate Tracy A. Brammeier obtained a record $35 million settlement on behalf of a 24-year-old woman who was severely injured after a truck ran over her at a Chicago street corner and dragged her for 60 feet.
The settlement is considered a record in the state of Illinois for any verdict or settlement involving a pedestrian. The prior high was a $29.1 million verdict for a child who lost both legs in 1992.
Caelen M. Peshek, 22 at the time of the Sept.15, 2015 incident, sustained multiple pelvic injuries as well as severe degloving injuries to her legs. Expert witnesses testified given her permanent disabilities, her ability to work would be severely limited for the rest of her life.
“This case is such a sad story for a young woman who was so athletic and had her entire life in front of her,” Clifford said after the settlement was finalized Monday (Feb. 26, 2018). “Instead, now it is a life filled with limitations, pain and suffering. Truck drivers need to be aware of their surroundings, how to properly and safely operate a truck because it can change the life of someone forever in just an instant.”
The settlement was with Hub Group Trucking, Inc. of Oak Brook and the truck driver Said Mohamed Shire. The case settled seven days into trial before Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas J. Lipscomb at the Daley Center.
Peshek was standing on the sidewalk at the corner of Ashland Avenue and Roosevelt Road returning to her apartment with groceries when the truck driver made a right-hand turn too tightly at about 7:30 p.m. The back wheels of the semi-truck ran over Peshek then dragged her for about 60 feet before a nearby University of Illinois security person in his car spotted the incident and came to her aid, saving her life.
Case No. 2015 L 010163
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For further information, please contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909.
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