Personal Injury cases resolved by the Law Office of David J. Heyer, Ltd.

Uninsured driver hits 45 year old man - $3.35 million

A 45-yr-old man was killed in an automobile collision when the underinsured driver of a pick-up truck ran a red light. Cellular phone records showed that the pick-up driver was using both his personal and work cell phones within moments of the collision, although the collision occurred after work hours. The settlement was paid by the pick-up driver and his employer.

2.5 Million- low speed collision aggravates arthritis - $2.5 Million

A 60 year man required a spinal fusion after being rear-ended in a car which caused only $500 in property damage.

Bus strikes pedestrian, causing serious arm injury - $2.29 million

19-year old man with a blood alchohol level of .263 was struck by a CTA bus, sustaining a partial degloving injury to his right upper arm. Injured party was initially offered $50,000 to settle.

Woman slips on flyer in Kmart parking lot and has multiple knee surgeries - $2.25 million

38-year-old woman sustained a knee injury after slipping on a piece of paper in a Kmart parking lot; required 7 surgeries and is left with grossly unstable knee, permanent foot paralysis and faces at least 8 more future surgeries

Unsafe machine causes permanent injury - $2 million

A 57-yr-old man lost his arm in a food processing machine while greasing the machine without using proper safety procedures. Evidence was discovered showing that the machine could not be fully lubricated unless it was fully energized making safety measures impractical.

Infant dies after being discharged from hospial - $2 million

Infant with apnea died after being discharged home

Infant dies after being discharged from hospial - $2 million

Infant with apnea died after being discharged home

Intoxicated salesman kills woman in drunk driving accident - $1.993 million

35 year old woman killed by intoxicated motorist (wine salesman); award made against employer (wine distributor) by proving that motorist became intoxicated in the course of his employment, drinking with a customer after a sales call.

Driver on cell phone is struck by truck driver - $1.75 million

30-year-old woman sustained a fractured hip and sciatic nerve injury when a truck tapped her car on the rear bumper, sending her into a tailspin; the defense produced records showing she was on a cell phone at the time of the accident.

15 year old boy drowns in Lake Superior on youth mission - $1.75 million

15-year-old boy drowned in Lake Superior when Church counselors neglected to supervise or rescue

Bicyclist struck, injured by truck driver - $1.56 million

A 26-yr-old bicyclist suffered a crushing hand injury when he was struck by a truck as he passed the truck through a 2 foot gap between the truck and the curb. The truck driver admitted at trial that he was not sure if he checked his side mirror before turning into the bicyclist.

Patient suffers nerve damage after negligent injection - $1.493 million

52-year-old man suffered sciatic nerve injury from negligent injection of Demerol into buttocks; received a $200,000 offer to settle

Older driver’s death results in policy limit recovery - $1 million

80-year-old man was killed after being struck by negligent driver who failed to reduce speed and to yield to the right-of-way.

Woman sustains serious leg and ankle injuries in auto accident - $850,000

79-year-old woman sustained ankle and leg fractures as a passenger in a car when another driver turned left in front of the vehicle.

Man rear-ended, suffers multiple injuries - $780,000

A 53-yr-old man with congenital stenosis of the neck, had surgery after a rear-end automobile collision. He had not complained of neck pain for 6 weeks after the collision. His doctor testified that the absence of any complaint of neck pain was explained by the fact that the man had severe chest pain from broken ribs which distracted the man from his neck pain.

Man suffers serious injuries from auto accident - $750,000

90-year-old man suffered bulging disc and developed spinal cord syndrome which caused immobility, bedsores and eventually his death from auto collision.

Pedestrian hit by bus - $750,000

54-year-old woman was at a crosswalk when she was struck and dragged by a bus. The woman had a knee surgery and other soft tissue injuries.

48 year man slips in rain/fluid at work - $725,000

A 48 year old man slipped in rain/hydraulic fluid in a loading yard. The man suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder an aggravation of his cervical arthritis leading to surgery.

Wreckless taxi driver injures his passenger - $695,000

A 46-yr-old man suffered a head injury while he was a passenger in a taxi cab that was on its way to the airport. The cab made a u-turn in front of semi-tractor trailer in order to avoid a traffic jam.

Truck driver fails to signal, causing a fatal accident - $680,000

A 21-yr-old non-documented immigrant was killed when the vehicle he was riding in slammed into a semi-truck at a speed in excess of 80 mph. The evidence showed that the truck driver should have seen the speeding car before the truck made his left turn in front of vehicle.

Man injured by ladder fall; general contractor found at fault - $650,000

51-year-old man fell off step ladder, tearing his rotator cuff; general contractor failed to provide eight foot ladder instead of four foot ladder.

Woman rear-ended, aggravating an existing medical condition - $600,000

A 40-yr-old woman with a pre-existing back condition was rear-ended at a low rate of speed. The medical evidence showed that an aggravation of her condition occurred which required a second surgery.

Man fell 10-14 feet from ladder - $600,000

41-yr-old journeyman roofer in union training class fell 10-14 feet from ladder, which was improperly secured with a bungee cord; sustaining fractured leg that required surgery.

Construction worker sustained shoulder and head injuries when material drops on top of him - $545,000

34-year-old man sustained broken clavicle when a steel I-beam fell on his head and shoulder at a construction site

Low speed impact - no damage - aggravation of disc disease - $510,000

51-year-old man was rear-ended at 5 mph. The impact allegedly aggravated the man’s preexisting back condition that led him to require surgery.

Construction site injury - $500,000

49-year-old man fractured his wrist when he tripped over a 2" x 8" piece of metal left in the floor at construction site.

5 injured in auto accident - $495,396

5 adults, traveling in a vehicle were struck by a driver that lost control of his vehicle. Injuries ranged from contusions to fractures.

Woman sustains serious burns - $495,000

F-57 suffered third degree burns when a fire broke out in her apartment building. the defendants failed to properly maintain smoke alarms.

13 year old with spina bifida suffers serious burns at a children’s camp - $480,000

A 13-yr-old boy with spina bifida sustained 2nd degree burns to his lower legs and penis when scalded by hot water during a shower at children’s camp

83-year old man dies while undergoing medical procedure - $475,000

An 83-yr-old man died when he became dizzy and fell while receiving a standing chest x-ray. The hospital never enforced its fall risk policy even though he was suffering from dehydration and had a doctor’s admitting order restricting his mobility. The man had said that he was okay to stand for the x-ray.

Woman rear-ended by tow truck suffers neck injury, requiring back surgery - $470,000

29-year-old woman sustained a neck injury, requiring surgical intervention and extensive physical therapy, when she was rear-ended by a truck

Drywaller sustains aggravation of arthritic knees resulting in surgery - $459,000

51-year-old drywall worker fell after the general contractor and subcontractor failed to maintain a raised floor which collapsed several inches in a computer room, resulting in the man having a bilateral medial meniscus tears and knee replacements.

Man sustained neck injury after falling in auto dealership - $455,000

40 yr-old man sustained un-operated cervical injuries and a concussion after slipping on floor in service area of auto dealership.

Supervisor found negligent in work-site fatality - $450,000

A 69-yr-old man died when he was backed over by a catering truck at a construction site. The previous lawyer settled the case against the catering truck but failed to pursue the general contractor who had no direct control over the catering truck which came to the worksite on its own. Recovery was made against the law firm who failed to preserve the case against the general contractor who was shown at trial to have allowed the catering truck to drive recklessly at the site many times before the incident.

Mail man slips on homeowners front porch - $450,000

57 yr-old mail man slipped on wet tile that was covering homeowners porch; sustaining right rotator cuff tear that required surgery.

low impact accident aggravates arthritis leading to surgery - $450,000

A 64 year man had an L5-S1 fusion for an aggravated spinal arthritis.

Man aggravates pre-existing back injury when rear-ended - $440,000

57-year-old man required spinal surgery after rear-ended by another vehicle

Landlord found partially responsible for death - $425,000

A 43-yr-old man suffered a fatal heart attack in his apartment. Paramedics were unable to immediately enter due to a defective door lock that the landlord had failed to repair despite several requests. Paramedics were delayed 8 to 10 minutes. The medical testimony established that the man would have had a 50% chance of survival at a severely impaired level if the paramedics had gained immediate entry.

Woman suffers ankle /foot injury when truck runs red light - $425,000

53-year-old woman sustained an ankle and foot injury when a truck collided with her vehicle, while attempting to make a left-hand turn.

Elevator mechanic fractures wrist after falling off ladder - $421,000

35-year-old elevator mechanic sustained a fractured wrist when he stepped off a metal ladder onto an icy roof at a Chicago hospital while conducting elevator repairs. Mechanic was offered $0 to settle.

Man rear-ended, requiring back surgery - $420,000

A 39-yr-old man with pre-existing arthritis in his back had multiple back surgeries after a low speed rear-end collision. His employment records showed that he also had several unrelated back injuries at work, which also may have caused the need for the surgery.

Woman injured in grocery store - $390,000

An 85 yr-old woman suffered a hip fracture from a fall at Jewel over a food pallet in the middle of the aisle used by a stockboy. The store’s incident reports and eye witnesses’ testimony showed that the woman was likely distracted while reaching for a carton of orange juice.

Painter injured by homeowner's unsafe scaffolding - $387,500

A 56-yr-old painter suffered a head injury when he fell from a scaffold owned by the homeowner which he used despite its unsafe condition while working as a painter. The painter had been instructed not to move the scaffolding by the homeowner.

4 injured in auto accident with on-duty tow truck driver - $360,000

4 adults riding in vehicle were struck on passenger side by on-duty employee of tow truck company. Injuries ranged from lacerations to cervical fracture.

Bicyclist injures a pedestrian - $335,000

A 42-yr-old woman was struck by a bicyclist while walking along the lakefront. She sustained a head injury. Witnesses had testified that the woman was listening to her iPod and walked right in front of the bicyclist.

Pedestrian struck by bicyclist on Lake Shore Drive and sustained brain injury - $335,000

A 42-year-old woman sustained a severe head injury when struck by bicycle while she was walking

Man injured after forklift driver fails to secure load - $275,000

A 56-yr-old man fractured his wrist when material fell off a forklift jack onto his arm. He had been unloading his truck in a narrow lane of traffic on a busy loading dock. The forklift driver had not secured the material as required.

Brick Layer falls off porch roof, breaks neck and has cervical fusion - $275,000

44-year-old man sustained a spinal injury when he fell off porch roof at construction site that was improperly constructed by general contractor

Passenger of vehicle injured when rear-ended by another vehicle - $213,387

47-year-old woman sustained torn rotator cuff when the driver of the vehicle she was in struck another vehicle

Man required knee replacement after falling in nail salon - $150,000

85-year-old man sustained knee injury, requiring knee replacement, when his foot got tangled in a cord lying across the floor in nail salon

Boy suffers traumatic brain injury when riding lawnmower rolls over - confidential

17-year-old boy suffered traumatic brain injury when riding lawn mower rolled over

Patient raped in psychiatric hospital - confidential

13-year-old boy was sexually assaulted by a 14-year-old boy while admitted to Riveredge Hospital