In Circuit Court - Barton Settlement
Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, 03/04/2002In Circuit Court
A $35 million settlement has been reached in a lawsuit by violinist Rachel Barton against Metra and another defendant, the plaintiff’s attorney said Monday.
The settlement comes after the Illinois Supreme Court last month let stand a 1999 jury award of $29.6 million to Barton who lost a leg and part of the other foot four years earlier. The accident occurred after the $500,000 Amati violin Barton was carrying became caught in a door as she stepped from a Metra commuter train. She fell beneath the wheels of the train.
The state Supreme Court declined to review a 1st District Appellate Court decision that upheld the jury award. The high court recently entered an order effectively dismissing the case, said Barton’s attorney, Robert A. Clifford, a principal of Clifford Law Offices.
Metra and the Chicago and Northwestern Transportation Co., along with an insurer for both defendants, paid the settlement, which included interest that accrued since the verdict was entered, Clifford added.
The case is Rachel Barton v. Chicago and Northwestern Transportation Co., et al., No. 92510.
Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.
