Jury Awards $18 Million Dollar Verdict to Truck Driver After Construction Accident

A Cook County jury awarded a verdict of $18,912,952.00 to a heavy delivery truck driver who suffered several injuries due to the use of improper and faulty equipment.

The Case

Before trial, the defendant had offered $100,000.00 to settle the case.

The plaintiff, Jack Richmond, was delivering an aerial lift to a construction site. While unloading the aerial lift from a flat-bed truck, the winch cable hook that was attached to the aerial lift disconnected and the aerial lift slid off the bed of the truck crushing the plaintiff.

He suffered Multiple fractures and serious injuries to back, pelvis and right knee: He was left with permanent pain requiring to consistently be on pain medicine Norco.

In-Depth Look

CHICAGO, IL – On June 13, 2022, 12 jurors unanimously agreed to award a $18,912,952 verdict to a 42-year-old heavy delivery truck driver.

The plaintiff, Jack Richmond, was delivering an aerial lift to a construction site. While unloading the aerial lift from a flat-bed truck, the winch cable hook that was attached to the aerial lift disconnected and the aerial lift slid off the bed of the truck crushing the plaintiff. Prior to the incident, the plaintiff’s employer had plaintiff bring the truck to defendant to remove the winch cable hook and replace it with a smaller hook. The truck’s original winch cable hook had a safety latch. The smaller hook that the defendant attached to the winch cable did not have a safety latch.   Defendant had been replacing hooks with safety latches to hooks without safety latch’s for some 15 years.

Defense contended the plaintiff asked for a smaller hook with no safety latch; the plaintiff used the smaller hook with no safety latch for over 10 months prior to the incident; the plaintiff never complained to defendant that the hook did not have a safety latch; the plaintiff improperly unloaded the aerial lift from the truck; the plaintiff violated the operator’s manual of the truck by unloading the truck while standing on it. the plaintiff’s employer failed to properly train the plaintiff; the accident happened differently than the way plaintiff claimed because a binder chain was missing at the scene.

Clifford W. Horwitz and Michael D. Carter, Jr., partners, at Horwitz Horwitz & Associates, tried the case. They contended that Mr. Richmond sustained multiple fractures and serious injuries to back, pelvis and right knee: 3 column fracture at L1, L2-L3 vertebral fracture, L3 compression fracture; T12 spinous process fracture; small fractures of the sacral spine, diastases of the pubic symphysis; avulsion fracture of the medial femoral epicondyle and rupture of the proximal MCL.  Four level fusion in his back.

Our Attorneys Stand Up For Workers

The Illinois Jury Verdict Reporter is honoring Clifford W. Horwitz in October of this year – awarding him with the Plaintiff’s Achievement Award. This coveted award has only been awarded to 15 attorneys since the Jury Verdict Reporter was established over 55 years ago. To be considered an attorney must first win at least five jury verdicts in excess of $5,000,000.00. Since 2012, Cliff’s trial team at Horwitz Horwitz & Associates has secured record verdicts at an astounding rate – every two out of three cases that Cliff has tried resulted in record-setting jury verdicts. In addition to securing what was the largest personal injury verdict in Illinois history, Cliff and his team have secured a number of record-setting jury verdicts since 2012, including the largest jury verdict in Illinois history for a construction worker, a quadriplegic, a brain injury, a neck injury, a hand injury, a complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) injury, and a shoulder injury.

If you have been injured in a work accident, contact our dedicated Chicago personal injury lawyers at Horwitz Horwitz & Associates today for a free consultation.