Craig Squillace, associate at Clifford Law Offices, obtained a record $4 million settlement on behalf of a 60-year-old woman who was killed when her vehicle was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer truck on I-80. The settlements represents a record in Will County for the wrongful death of a woman over 60.
Mary Maher of suburban Park Forest died at the scene. She was stopped in her vehicle in heavy traffic when a semi-trailer owned by Bell Warehousing of Flint, Michigan, slammed into her car, pushing her into another semi-trailer in front of her. She left behind two adult children who live in Illinois.
The semi-trailer that slammed into her car was being driven by James L. Siegla, Jr., a defendant in the case, from Beaverton, Michigan.
“Truck drivers need to be very careful on the road because the consequences obviously can be deadly,” Squillace said. “This tragic crash was avoidable had proper precautions been taken, but instead a family lost a very special person.”
An order was entered by Probate Judge John J. Fleming Nov. 5, 2015, approving the settlement between the parties.
Read more about the case in this article from the Chicago Daily Law Bulletin.