Corboy & Demetrio Secures $2 Million for Chicago Pedestrian Struck by Garbage Truck

Corboy & Demetrio has secured a $2 million settlement on behalf of a Chicago woman who was hit by a garbage truck in the city’s River North neighborhood.  The truck was driven by Augustus Dortch, who along with his employer Lakeshore Waste Services, were defendants in the lawsuit.   The settlement, secured the day the trial was set to begin, was approved by Cook County Circuit Court Judge Elizabeth Budzinski on Jan. 10, 2012.

Corboy & Demetrio attorneys Philip Harnett Corboy, Jr. and Michelle M. Kohut negotiated the settlement on behalf of the 31-year-old woman who had moved to Chicago four days prior to the knockdown by the truck while walking south on LaSalle Street in the afternoon of April 13, 2008.  She was crossing Chicago Avenue with the walk signal when she was struck by a garbage truck operated by Dortch, who was executing a right-hand turn from LaSalle Street onto Chicago Avenue. 

“The evidence at trial would have shown that our client was already in the crosswalk when the defendant started his turn; that he hit her with his right bumper, knocking her down; and that he ran over her with his right tire before coming to a stop,” Kohut said.                                                                           

The victim suffered fractures to her right foot with massive skin, muscle and tissue damage; a fractured right hand; a fractured pelvis; and a fractured elbow.   She suffered severe degloving to her right foot that required skin grafting from her thigh.   Her fifth toe had to be amputated as a result of her injuries.

“Our client will now have the ability to get the proper medical attention she will need for the rest of her life due to the degloving injury to her right foot and the disability it has caused her,” Kohut said.