The Elman Joseph Law Group recently won a $1,000,000 (gross, $500,000 net) wrongful death lawsuit for a fatal pedestrian accident in DuPage County. [Marqual Jefferson (Shavoness Taylor, Deceased) v. Ermanno Mazzei – 21 L 5]
The underlying accident occurred on September 17, 2019 at the I-55 Cass Avenue ramp in Darien. The plaintiff was walking across the middle of the street [expressway ramp] at night. She was lost and attempting to find a PACE bus stop. While walking across the exit ramp, she was hit by a SUV driven by a male driver. At the time of the collision the SUV was traveling at approximately 40-45 mph. The plaintiff died immediately.
An eyewitness account indicated that the woman appeared confused and was attempting to walk across the middle of the exit ramp.
The accident report indicated that the plaintiff was at fault for walking across the middle of the highway exit ramp and not yielding to the vehicle. A police officer testified that the plaintiff was at fault for not yielding the right of way to the vehicle, and that the driver was not distracted at the time of the accident.
The plaintiff’s lawyers at the Elman Joseph Law Group, LLC contended that the driver of the SUV was distracted as he was listening to Netflix that was streaming at the time of the accident.
The Elman Joseph Law Group retained no expert witnesses and took no depositions.
Defendant’s carrier was Progressive Insurance. The policy was $250,000. The last settlement offer was $15,000.
The Illinois trial attorneys at Elman Joseph Law Group, LLC have been maximizing the amount of compensation for clients that have been injured or who have died due to the fault of others. The trial attorneys at the firm have attained numerous successful jury trial verdicts and settlements in various types of cases. These cases include vehicle accidents; motorcycle accidents; pedestrian accidents; bicycle accidents; and premises liability lawsuits. The lawyers have been awarded various prestigious performance designations and other recognitions due to the firm’s achievements over the last 25+ years.