On December 6, 2022, Jack J. Casciato, partner at Clifford Law Offices, obtained a record $4.067 million settlement in the state of Illinois on behalf of a 64-year-old man who suffered a fractured hip when he was struck by a forklift driven by a driver with admitted obstructed vision.
Raymond Mockus of Orland Park, Illinois, was working on Nov. 17, 2020, at the Ardagh Metal Beverage USA Inc. plant in Valparaiso, Indiana, when a forklift struck him causing a right hip fracture that required two hip surgeries. Plaintiff alleged that the forklift driver was not qualified or properly trained to operate this particular forklift.
“Mr. Mockus sustained a traumatic, complex hip fracture that resulted in a permanent limp and permanent weakness that eliminated his ability to work a manual labor-intensive job,” Casciato said. “The settlement provides him with the resources for the future care he will require. Both sides were well prepared to go to trial.”
The settlement of $4,067,863 is the largest in Cook County for a hip fracture with no other injuries involved, according to the Jury Verdict Reporter. The case was mediated by Hon. William J. Haddad (retired) of ADR Systems of America, and discovery was presided by Judge James O’Hara in the Law Division of the Circuit Court of Cook County.
For further information, please contact Clifford Law Offices Communications Partner Pamela Sakowicz Menaker at 847-721-0909 (cell).