Plaintiff Claims Lingering Brain Injury, But Jury Opts for Defense Verdict

Served as second-chair trial attorney in securing not guilty verdict in personal injury case seeking $10.5 million in damages.  Plaintiff was injured when rocks fell from a vertical conveyor and struck him in the head, neck and shoulders while he was working on the north portion of the Deep Tunnel Project in Cook County.  Plaintiff claimed he suffered a permanent organic brain injury as well as memory deficits, cognitive deficits and personality changes.  Plaintiff claimed our client, a sub-contractor on the project, was the supervising employer when the accident occurred and that its conduct violated the general duty clause and provisions relating to safe access and egress under OSHA.  Defense argued that the sole proximate cause of the accident was the conduct of the general contractor (plaintiff’s employer), which had the sole responsibility for the safety of the main construction shaft as well as the conveyor system.  Defense also disputed plaintiff’s disability claims, arguing that the plaintiff had deceived all of the doctors as well as the Social Security Administration, which had committed more than $2 million in benefits to the plaintiff.