Richard Martis, a chiropractor, treated Water Management Corp.’s employee for an on-the-job injury. Water Management’s worker compensation insurer was Grinnell Mutual Reinsurance Company. Martis was not in Grinnell’s preferred provider network. He submitted his bill to Grinnell for the treating the employee. Grinnell discounted the bill and paid Martis as…
Christine Siwek had an accident when she was driving Jerrold Erickson’s car. Christine told the Illinois Department of Transportation about the accident, and identified American Access Casualty Company as her insurer. American told the Department that Christine’s policy had been canceled. Christine claimed she never received a policy cancellation, so…
James S. appealed from a trial court order that allowed psychotropic drugs to be administered to James against his wishes. A basis of James’s appeal was that the order should be reversed because the circuit court did not state findings of fact to support emergency administration of psychotropic drugs, and…
In this product liability case, Ford Motor Co. was sued by the estate of a driver who died in a rear-end auto accident. After trial, a jury reached a verdict for the estate. At trial, the parties fought about the correct way to instruct the jury to determine whether Ford…
Karen Gillespie, as administrator of Kenyudra Gillespie’s estate, sued the University of Chicago Hospitals and a number of doctors for medical malpractice. Karen settled with or dismissed all of the defendants except Dr. Glynis Vashi. The case went to trial, and after Karen put in her evidence, the trial court…
Seven year old Linnea Johnson was kicked by Gambler, a horse that was being boarded at Top Brass Horse Farm. Linnea suffered permanent kidney damage. She and her mother sued William and Ramona Johnson, Gambler’s owners. After a trial, a jury ruled in favor of William and Ramona, so Linnea…
Traci Hanson-Suminski bought a Honda from Rohrman Midwest Motors. The car salesman told Traci that the car had not been in an accident. Traci found out otherwise when she tried to sell the car. Unable to reach a satisfactory agreement with the Rohrman, Traci sued for common law fraud and…
In this confusing mortgage foreclosure case, a default judgment was entered in favor of Washington Mutual Bank against Archer Bank. About six months later, Archer asked the court to vacate the default. Archer’s motion to vacate relied on two sections of the Illinois Civil Procedure Code − § 2-1301(e) (setting…
Travelers Casualty & Surety sued the Bowmans for payment on performance bonds. The Bowmans raised statute of limitations defenses, but one of the statutes was not raised in the trial court. Nonetheless, that defense was fully briefed and argued to the appellate court. When the case reached the Illinois Supreme…
Stephen Wartalski, a pipefitter, was injured while doing construction work at a Panera restaurant. He claimed that a glass shield over a temporary lighting fixture broke, exposing him to ultraviolet radiation. The radiation, he said, caused facial contractions and traumatic dystonia. Wartalski sued the construction contractors for negligence, and a…