Two of Healy Scanlons’ newest associates win approximately a quarter of a million dollars in a jury trial where no offer was on the table for a CDOT Inspector who fell into a trench on an excavation site. Patrick C. Anderson and Matthew M. Gannon of Healy Scanlon Law Firm represented the plaintiff and tried the case to verdict.
The plaintiff, who came from the U.S. from Jordan at age 16, was a 59 year-old CDOT employee who suffered a torn rotator cuff and torn meniscus in the accident. The defendant dug a four-foot deep trench which began on property he owned and extended onto public property, including removal of a portion of the sidewalk. He had left mounds of loose dirt and rocks near the edge of the trench and took no steps to place a fence or barricade around the excavation site. At the close of the evidence, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Thomas L. Hogan, entered a directed verdict in favor of Plaintiff on the issue of the defendant’s negligence, finding the manner in which the defendant dug the trench was not reasonably safe.
The jury awarded $251,062, which was reduced by 10% to $225,956, accounting for 10% contributory fault on the part of the plaintiff. The defendant made no offer of settlement.
