Chicago Injury Lawyers Blog

Tim Cavanagh, founder and partner of Cavanagh Law Group, has been named a "Leading Lawyer" for the 10th consecutive year. This year Tim was selected by his peers as a "Leading Lawyer" in three areas: General Personal Injury Law, Professional Malpractice, and Transportation Liability. The honor is based on surveys conducted by Leading Lawyers Network, a division of the Law Bulletin Publishing Company. Tim was also recognized as one of the top 100 Consumer Lawyers in Illinois once again. To view Tim's "Leading Lawyer" profile, click here.

On October 26, 2011, Tim Cavanagh and Matt Rundio received Trial Lawyer Excellence awards from the Jury Verdict Report for gaining the highest reported tracked vehicle verdict. The awards, presented by Editor John Kirkton at the Jury Verdict Reporter's annual ceremony at the University Club of Chicago, recognize Tim and Matt for their record $55 million jury verdict in Velarde v. Canadian National Railroad Company. Congratulations to Tim, Matt and the other 32 lawyers who were honored for their achievements.

For more information on the Jury Verdict Reporter awards and annual ceremony, click here.

On November 7, 2011, Tim Cavanagh filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County on behalf of Terri Cenar. On November 4, 2011 at 1:40 p.m., Terri was riding her bicycle southbound on LaSalle Street when a semi-trailer truck attempted to make a right turn onto Chicago Avenue and struck and ran over Terri. Witnesses have stated that Terri had the right of way. Terri was immediately transported to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and later transferred to Loyola University Medical Center. The lawsuit names both the truck driver, Anthony Hudson, and his employer, Doka USA, Ltd., as defendants.

Immediately after filing the lawsuit, Cavanagh appeared before Judge Diane Larsen on an Emergency Motion for a Protective Order. Judge Larsen granted the Plaintiff's Emergency Motion ordering that the truck company preserve the truck in its present form. Judge Larsen also ordered the City of Chicago to preserve any surveillance videos of the incident from its cameras mounted on traffic control lights and to preserve all 911 calls.

The case is entitled Terri Cenar v. Anthony Hudson and Doka USA, Ltd., Court No.: 11 L 11590. The case is currently pending in front of Judge Diane Larsen. Mr. Cavanagh stated: "This tragedy could have been averted had the truck driver been paying attention and doing his job. Terri and her family and friends would appreciate any witnesses contacting Cavanagh Law Group."

Cyclist Struck by Semi Truck at Chicago and LaSalle

The family of a Wisconsin construction worker who was hit and killed while working on a road construction site in Elmhurst, IL has filed a lawsuit against Adan's Trucking, Inc., and the driver operating the company's vehicle. Thirty-eight-year-old Daniel Green of Fontana, WI was struck and killed by a semi-tractor trailer on September 12, 2011, while working near the intersection of US-20 W and York Road in Elmhurst, IL. Daniel Green leaves behind a wife, Mrs. Mary Kriete-Green and his loving family.

According to the lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court on September 23, 2011 by Chicago attorney, Timothy Cavanagh a partner at Cavanagh Law Group, Green was working on a metal pipe in a gravel area 2-3 feet northwest of the right curb of the right turning lane when the driver of the semi-tractor trailer made an improper turn and struck Green with its rear tandem wheels. Green was then transported to Elmhurst Memorial Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The DuPage County Coroner's office and the police have both said that Green likely died of "massive traumatic injuries."

The case, Mary Kriete-Green, Special Administrator of the Estate of Daniel Green, Deceased v. Martin Montelongo and Adan's Trucking, Inc., case number 11 L 009979 is pending in front of Judge Michael R. Panter.

Lawsuit filed in construction worker's death

The family of a woman killed early Friday morning while walking on the Eisenhower Expressway has filed a lawsuit to preserve evidence against the Village of Westchester, BP Gas Station at 825 Mannheim Road in Westchester, the Illinois State Police, and the Office of the Medical Examiner of Cook County.

On September 2, 2011 at 3:30 a.m., the Illinois State Police pulled over Diana Paz for driving in the wrong direction on I-290 and arrested her for driving under the influence. Two hours later, Paz was released from the Westchester Police Department and transported to a nearby gas station by a member of the Illinois State Police. Thirty minutes after her release, Ms. Paz was killed while walking in a marked median area along the inbound lanes of the Eisenhower Expressway. According to a witness, Ms. Paz was struck by a Toyota truck that had crossed the marked median area. The driver of the pickup truck was charged with violating a restricted median.

On September 7, 2011, Cavanagh Law Group filed a lawsuit to preserve evidence and sought an Emergency Hearing in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Judge Eileen Brewer granted the family's Emergency Motion to protect and preserve all evidence in this incident including videotapes.

Mr. Cavanagh stated, "It is not right that the police would leave a twenty-five-year-old young woman at a gas station next to a major highway, while she was intoxicated, with no money or cell phone, in the dead of night." Mr. Cavanagh continued to state, "This family is entitled to answers and Judge Brewers ruling today will allow the family to see all critical evidence soon."

The case is entitled Maria Guerrero, as Next Friend of Erik Martinez v. Village of Westchester, et al. The case number is 11 L 9303. The case is pending in front of Judge Eileen Brewer in the Circuit Court of Cook County.

Cavanagh Law Group has settled a wrongful death lawsuit for $6.3 million. The case arose out of a two-vehicle automobile crash that resulted in the death of a passenger in one of the cars. The lawsuit was litigated for 7 years and was appealed to the Illinois Appellate Court on two separate occasions. The name of the case is being withheld as several of the insurance companies involved in this record payout demanded confidentiality of the settlement. Tim Cavanagh, the founding partner of Cavanagh Law Group, stated: "The family is gratified that this case is finally resolved and that justice has been served. Their perseverance and courage in this lengthy litigation allowed Cavanagh Law Group to fully litigate the case and recover this record settlement."

Larry Yellen, Investigative Reporter for Fox News Chicago, interviewed Tim Cavanagh regarding Canadian National Railway's history of crossing collisions in the Chicago area. Cavanagh, a leader in railroad litigation in Illinois and around the country, has secured a $9.1 million settlement against the CN/IC and a $55 million verdict against the CN/IC in the last decade. The story and interview can be found at:

http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/news/metro/20100428-canadian-national-history

Chicago railroad lawyer, Tim Cavanagh, founding partner of Cavanagh Law Group, will appear on Fox News Chicago on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 9 p.m. Cavanagh will appear in a story by Fox Investigative Reporter Larry Yellen. Yellen is reporting on human error of CN/IC employees and systemic failures of CN/IC that resulted in Cavanagh's $9.1 million settlement in Ajmeri v. CN/IC and Cavanagh's $55 million verdict against CN/IC in Velarde v. CN/IC. The errors mirror the conduct that caused the Katie Lunn tragedy on April 16, 2010. Cavanagh discusses the fail safe procedures like "stop and flag," Positive Train Control and Collision Avoidance Systems that could have prevented Katie Lunn's death.

Mr. Cavanagh is a nationally recognized attorney in railroad litigation. He has been named one of the Top 500 personal injury lawyers in the country by Lawdragon.

A video on the Amtrak train has confirmed witness statements that the gates and lights at the University Park crossing where Katie Lunn was killed on April 16, 2010 were not working. The Canadian National Railroad Company owned and maintained the tracks, gates and lights. The CN/IC had workers at the crossing hours before Katie was killed. The railroad has confirmed that workers deactivated the warning signals. At the time Katie drove over the crossing at 9:42 p.m., no signals were working that could warn her that an Amtrak train was approaching at 79 miles per hour.

This revelation raises troubling questions about safety at the CN/IC. Human error at the CN/IC led to a $9.1 million settlement in Ajmeri v. CN/IC and a $55 million verdict against the railroad in Velarde v. CN/IC. The attorney for the Ajmeri and Velarde families, Tim Cavanagh of Cavanagh Law Group is a leader in railroad liability litigation in Illinois and across the country.

The deadly train/car crash involving Katie Lunn at a Canadian National Railroad crossing in University Park, Illinois on April 16, 2010 raises serious questions about the safety systems in place at the international railroad company. At 9:42 p.m., Katie's vehicle was struck by a Amtrak train on Stuenkel Road near Governors Highway. The crossing is controlled by gates and lights. Witnesses to the crash have told police that the gates and lights were not working at the time of the crash. Canadian National has confirmed that its workers were working at the crossing earlier that day. The railroad has not verified the witnesses version of whether the gates and lights were working.

This incident is not the first involving malfunctioning gates and lights at Canadian National crossings. In 2001, Tim Cavanagh represented the Velarde family in the landmark case entitled Velarde v. Canadian National Railroad Company in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Mr. Cavanagh was the lead attorney that obtained a $55 million verdict for the victims of the crash. Evidence obtained by Cavanagh revealed that the railroad had known of malfunctioning gates and lights at the Army Trail Road crossing for weeks. The railroad instituted a "stop and flag" procedure at the crossing. However, a dispatcher wrongly told the engineer operating the train that the gates and lights had been fixed. Instead of the train stopping at the crossing and flagging cars to stop, the train barrelled thru at 50 miles per hour striking the Velarde vehicle.

Mr. Cavanagh also obtained a $9.1 million settlement in Ajmeri v. Chicago Central and Pacific Railroad Company only three months before the Velarde incident. On the day of the crash, an unusually harsh snow storm caused crossing lights at the Schmale Road crossing to be obscured. The crossing was owned and operated by the Canadian National. Hanifa Ajmeri was a passenger in a vehicle driven by her friend when their car was struck at the crossing by a CC&P train. Police found a crossing gate on the ground that had clearly been knocked down by a car. Railroad representatives initially claimed that the Ajmeri vehicle knocked down the crossing gate. In documents unearthed by Cavanagh in discovery (following Cavanagh's insistence on an emergency protective order of all evidence), it was revealed that the Canadian National dispatch center received a call notifying it that a crossing gate was knocked down at the Schmale Road crossing. The call was made 45 minutes before the crash. An audio tape of the call revealed that the dispatcher received the call and was required by Federal Rules to institue a "stop and flag" procedure. A "stop and flag" procedure, when implemented properly is a fail safe procedure that will avoid high speed train car crashes even at crossings with malfunctioning gates and lights. However, communication is critical. The information has to be conveyed to all approaching train crews. In the Ajmeri case, deposition testimony revealed that the dispatcher forgot to radio the trains crew. Instead of the train stopping at the crossing, the train barrelled thru at a high speed causing head and hip injuries to Mrs. Ajmeri.

The Ajmeri case was advanced to trial at the behest of Cavanagh. When opening statements were set to begin, the railroad finally succumbed and settled the case for a state record amount of $9.1 million. That record would be broken one year later when Cavanagh won the Velarde case.

Four women were killed in a one car crash in Chicago's Englewood neighborhood in the early morning hours of Saturday, March 6, 2010. At 2 a.m. a Pontiac sedan was headed westbound on Garfield Avenue at a high rate of speed when it left the roadway and struck a tree. Chicago police and fire paramedics responded to the scene. The car was nearly unrecognizable due to the damage from the high speed impact with the tree. Chicago police are investigating.

Cavanagh Law Group has long been regarded as one of the preeminent firms in the state for personal injury, automobile liability and wrongful death. Timothy J. Cavanagh has been named one of the top 500 plaintiffs' lawyers in the United States by LawDragon Magazine, and today the partners of Cavanagh Law Group boast an astonishing record of success. With over $350 million in settlements, judgments and awards for our clients, the Cavanagh Law Group has earned the highest Martindale-Hubbell rating available. Some of our recent successes include:
$27 million, railroad crossing case
$14 million, medical malpractice
$13.7 million, wrongful death
$9.1 million, railroad crossing case
$7.5 million, medical malpractice
$5.7 million, motor vehicle liability
$4.5 million, motor vehicle liability
$4.5 million, product liability
$3 million, premise liability

Today we represent nothing less than a singular voice for personal injury victims' rights in Illinois.

In the early morning hours of Friday, March 5, 2010, a bus operated by Tierra Santa Tours, Inc. rammed another vehicle, crossed the center line and rolled over killing six and injuring sixteen in Arizona. The bus was transporting passengers on its trip from Mexico to Los Angeles. The crash occured on interstate 10 in Pinal County, south of Phoenix. Federal investigators have determined that the California bus company was operating the bus illegally because it didn't have the authority to operate over state lines.

The attorneys at Cavanagh Law Group have decades of experience handling transportation negligence cases in Illinois and around the country. Tim Cavanagh and Matt Rundio, partners at the firm, have teamed up to win numerous record setting verdicts. In Velarde v. Canadian National, the lawyers were the lead attorneys in winning a $55 million dollar verdict in a train/car crash. The verdict was recognized by the National Law Journal as one of the top 100 verdicts in the nation in 2002. In 2009, the lawyers obtained a $13.7 million wrongful death verdict in Czapski v. Maher. Cavanagh has also obtained several record setting settlements including $9.1 million in Ajmeri v. Illinois Central , $4.1 million in Barnes v. Berry Electric Company and $4.5 million in Taylor v. Daimler.

On April 4, 2009, Lois Poole was stopped in traffic on Harlem Avenue at Lexington Avenue in Oak Park, Illinois. Ryan Haggerty, while driving a vehicle owned by his family's auto dealership, Jerry Haggerty Chevrolet, Inc., failed to stop his vehicle in time and slammed into the rear of Poole's car. On February 18, 2009, Cavanagh Law Group filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The case is titled Lois Poole v. Ryan W. Haggerty, et al., No 10 L 2141. The lawsuit alleges that the defendant failed to keep a lookout and was using a cell phone at the time of the crash. This marks the fifteenth lawsuit filed by Cavanagh Law Group because a driver was using a cell phone while driving. Lois now suffers from a disc injury in her lumbar spine which will likely require surgery to repair.

On the evening of December 30, 2009, Qusai Issa was driving his 2003 Ford Expedition in Berwyn, Illinois. The inside of his vehicle suddenly became engulfed in flames. A local newspaper reported that a man driving behind the Ford Expedition saw the fire erupt and saved Qusai from certain death. Qusai was transported to Loyola University Medical Center with third degree burns over 50% of his body. Qusai remains in the Intensive Care Unit of Loyola to this day.

Unbeknownst to Qusai, Ford Motor Company had been aware of a dangerous defect in its vehicles for many years. It had received hundreds of complaints for "cruse control switch" fires in the years preceding Qusai's injuries. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has opened an investigation and Ford has responded by recalling hundreds of thousands of its vehicles.

On February 16, 2010, Tim Cavanagh of Cavanagh Law Group filed a lawsuit against Ford Motor Company in the Circuit Court of Cook County. The case is Qusai Issa v. Ford Motor Company, et al., Case No. 2010 L 2042. On February 17, 2010, Mr. Cavanagh will present an Emergency Motion for a Protective Order before Judge Savage at 9:15 a.m. in Room 2201 of the Richard J. Daley Center to ensure that the vehicle is preserved and available for safety experts to view and determine the cause of the fire.

On February 9, 2010, a vehicle crossing the railroad tracks at River Road and Northwest Highway in Des Plaines, Illinois was struck by a Metra train. The collision between the Crystal Lake bound No. 657 train was at 8:10 p.m. during the most significant snowfall of the year. Both the 71 year old driver and the 68 year old passenger were taken to Lutheran General Hospital. The driver was listed in fair condition but the pasenger was pronounced dead. The Des Plaines police are investigating.

Cavanagh Law Group is a leader in transportation litigation in Illinois and throughout the country. The firm's founder, Timothy J. Cavanagh, has obtained numerous multi-million dollar settlements and verdicts in railroad crash cases and other transportation cases. Mr. Cavanagh obtained a $55 million verdict in the Velarde v. Canadian National Railroad case that was upheld on appeal. He secured a $9.1 million settlement in the Ajmeri v. Illinois Central Railroad Company case in 2000. In April, 2009, he obtained a $13.7 million verdict in the Czapski v. Maher wrongful death case.