Chicago Injury Law Blog

Wishing everyone a safe and happy 2007.

Merry Christmas from all of us at William G. Pintas & Associates.

"Like so many other tales of cruise-ship crime, Janet Kelly's story begins with a cocktail and ends with a confidentiality agreement. Six years ago, on the last night of a Mexican cruise returning to Los Angeles, the Arizona businesswoman stopped at a poolside bar before dinner. The bartender, who in the days prior had been friendly but not overly flirtatious, handed her a fruity concoction that had an unwanted kick. Kelly, who is convinced that the drink was drugged, says she felt her legs go rubbery and her mind turn to mush as the bartender led her to an employees-only restroom and raped her before she passed out cold."

Read Janet Kelly's full story in Time Magazine here.

In 1993, Patricia Anderson and her four children were rear ended in their Chevy Malibu. The impact caused the fuel tank to leak, and the gas ignited setting the car ablaze. Everyone in the car was seriously burned, with 3 of the 4 children sustaining burns over 60% of their body.
The subsequent lawsuit revealed that the fuel tank design on the car was unreasonably dangerous. GM could have designed a safer fuel tank for $8.59 per car, but decided for a cheaper design. A GM memo used at the trial estimated that post-collision fuel tank fires would cost GM $2.40 per car, estimating that each human life "has a value of $200,000."
In essence, for an extra $6 per car profit, GM was willing to let its consumers occasionally burn to death in post-collision fuel tank
fires.

Read more here.

Gary Skinner died at the age of 48, crushed to death when his 1999 Ford Ranger rolled over and the roof collapsed in on him. Even more troubling than the man's death is the fact that the auto industry knew as far back as 1966 that the roof support was inadequate to protect the car's passengers.
A General Motors document recently made public indicates that the problem of inadequate roof support could have been fixed with an addition costing $43.13.

Read more here.

A family who claims toxic mold in their home caused brain damage in their baby has reached a settlement against a lumber company and 16 other defendants. The parents said their child became sick because of mold on framing studs that had been improperly stored by the lumber company. The lumber company settled the day after the judge barred the wood supplier from using 10 of its 17 experts, including a toxicologist and a microbiologist. The judge excluded the experts because a defense lawyer missed a deadline for designating witnesses and backdated a document to cover it up.
The Calfornia family received over 22 million in compensation for their daughter who requires constant 25 hour care.

Read more here.

A Florida jury ordered Ford Motor Co. to pay $61 million to the parents of an 18-year-old boy who was killed during a rollover of a 1996 Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicle, a lawyer for the family said. The state court jury in Miami awarded the $61 million in compensatory damages and didn't award punitive damages, said attorney Bruce Kaster. The lawsuit is one of hundreds facing Ford over claims of defects in the Explorer. In the Florida case, the family claimed Ford ignored its engineers' advice on how to improve the Explorer's stability and failed to correct a flaw in the vehicle's suspension.

A recent investigation by CNN reveals that millions of Ford vehicles have a faulty switch that may ignite causing a fire. The switch is designed to turn the cruise control off when the driver presses the brake. Ford has already recalled 2 million automobiles to replace the part, but the recent document uncovered by CNN indicates that the part is found in over 16 million cars and trucks. The vehicles include:

* Mark VII/VIII from 1994-1998

* Taurus/Sable and Taurus SHO 2.3 L 1993-1995

* Econoline 1992-2003

* F-Series 1993-2003

* Windstar 1994-2003

* Explorer without IVD 1995-2003

* Explorer Sport/Sport Trac 2002-2003

* Expedition 1997-2003

* Ranger 1995-2003

Allstate release a statement today agreeing to reduce rates for car insurance in New York at the request of New York legislators. Citing a reduction in car accident fraud in 2003 and 2004, Allstate agreed to reduce rates by 5.1% or 15 million dollars in savings for consumers. Allstate insures 1.5 private automobiles, or 17 percent of the market in New York. See related article here.

Allstate, based in Northbrook, IL, is unlikely to do the same in Illinois absent some prodding by the Illinois legislature or Governor Blagojevich. Rates are regulated within each state by state law, and Illinois is home to some of the most lax insurance regulation laws in the country. This is in no small part due to the fact that two of the biggest insurance companies in the country, Allstate and State Farm, are headquarted in Illinois.