Clifford Law Offices Featured in National Law Journal with Earning the Nation's Top 2004 Verdict in a Motor Vehicle Accident

Clifford Law Offices was featured in the Feb. 21, 2005 National Law Journal, having earned the largest verdict -- $38.3 million – last year in the country involving a motor vehicle accident.

Kevin P. Durkin, partner at Clifford Law Offices, and associate John T. Karnezis obtained the verdict in Chicago’s Cook County Circuit Court following an eight-week trial on behalf of a west suburban Chicago family.

The respected National Law Journal, in its special annual section entitled "The Top 100 Verdicts of 2004," recounted the details of the collision that occurred on Illinois Interstate 90 near Rockford after a car driven by Scott Yoder was struck in a domino-effect collision in the fog. Yoder’s daughter was killed and his son was injured, leaving him with irreversible brain damage and requiring round-the-clock care. Yoder’s wife, Jerelyn, was seated beside him and also was severely hurt, necessitating 31 facial surgeries.

Nine defendants and their employers were named as defendants, all who blamed the weather and an act of God. Durkin argued that truck driver training, licensing and regulation all required the drivers to reduce their speed under those conditions in order to drive responsibly.