Case Results

Chicago-area mom, expecting her first child, was admitted to a suburban Chicago hospital. During labor, the doctor ordered Pitocin, which is a drug used to stimulate contractions in order to move the labor process along. Excessive amounts of Pitocin administered contrary to the hospital’s own policies, were administered by the nurses. It was alleged that the doctor failed to monitor the amount of Pitocin given to the mother. The baby was born brain-damaged and requires lifelong 24-hour care. Shortly after filing the lawsuit, the hospital and doctor offered $12 million to settle the case. This money will be used to take care of the child and give her as full a life as possible under the circumstances.

First-time mom was ecstatic to learn she was having twins. A routine ultrasound taken just prior to her due date showed that the twins were in fetal distress and emergency procedures needed to be undertaken. The radiologist misread the ultrasound noting it was normal. One of the infants was stillborn at birth and the other infant suffered profound brain damage until the time of his death at the age of 7. The hospital and doctor settled the case for $10 million.

Carpenter was installing panels at a local job site and fell from a hydraulic lift resulting in serious injuries.

A 46-year old woman with a stomach ache goes to the emergency room. The doctor ordered Pepcid, which is a common drug prescribed to relieve minor stomach ailments. Instead, the nurse on duty gave the woman one of the three drugs previously used in Illinois for lethal injection. This drug, which is a paralytic agent, caused the woman to stop breathing. She went into cardiac arrest and although she was rescued by the emergency room doctor, she suffered brain damage.

Mom avoids Pace van, but loses control of her vehicle, strikes the median. The mother of an 18-month-old who sustained a lacerated liver after a medical-transportation van allegedly cut off the mother’s minivan and caused it to crash has settled her lawsuit for $7 million. An agreement was reached Oct. 25 ahead of an Oct. 30 Daley Center trial, according to plaintiff’s attorney Jeremy L. Geller of Trapp & Geller.

An apprentice plumber fell through the floor of Trump Tower landing on the concrete below. He sustained injuries to his back, shoulder, and ankle. He was able to return to work following the accident.

A 52-year old woman was injured in a car accident with a broken leg. She developed blood clots. The radiologist claimed he reported to the patient’s treating doctors that the blood clot was in danger of moving to her lungs, resulting in a high risk of death. Doctors claim they never received the report. The parties settled after a jury was picked.

In 2012, Trapp & Geller settled a case against the general contractor and others in the amount of $3.5 million for negligence in allowing a support beam to fall, striking a laborer’s head. The laborer suffered herniated discs in the neck.

A truck driver was standing on a roadway waiting for assistance after his truck broke down. A passing truck struck him resulting in his death.

A 26- year old woman, while waiting in the drive-through line at a fast-food restaurant, was struck from behind injuring her shoulder. The injury developed into a rare nerve disorder called reflex sympathetic dystrophy or complex regional pain syndrome. She was unable to continue working as a result of her injuries. Jamie M. Trapp recovered $2.4 million at trial.

A 55-year old man, who was hospitalized due to complications arising from organ failure, had an intravenous line administered while in the intensive care unit. The intravenous line came out of the vein but the IV solution continued to infuse the medication into the surrounding tissue. As a result, the patient underwent several surgeries and lost much of the use of his arm.

A carpenter was injured during the construction of a local hospital when a chain attached to a crane fell, striking a carpenter as he was cleaning his worksite. The man suffered a herniated disc to his neck and $2 million in settlement of his case.

A 55-year old bricklayer fell through a concealed hole in a roof of a car dealership suffering injuries to his elbow, shoulder, and knee. Although he returned to work five months later, a Cook County jury awarded him $2,000,000.

An 18-year old man, on his first day working as a laborer for a construction company, was struck by a train while cleaning debris from an overhead construction project on an interstate that stands over the railroad tracks. The railway complained to the construction company about the debris falling on the tracks and ordered the construction company to clean the debris on a daily basis. Despite the fact that the railroad knew there were workers in the vicinity, it issued no warnings to its conductors to slow down or to take precautions when approaching the vicinity. The case settled for $2 million.

48-Year old client was on his first day on a new job. The client was connecting chains from a gas tanker to a John Deere Excavator so the tanker could be lifted and placed in the ground. The Excavator operator failed to use appropriate procedures and lifted the tanker while the client was still on a ladder connected to the tanker causing the client to fall 10 feet. The client suffered a fractured calcaneus bone and rotator cuff injury and required surgery.

A 47-year old man fell while working on a scaffold. He was unaware that the scaffold was defective in that it was not capable to support his weight. Other employees erected the scaffold. He suffered a close head injury with partial loss of taste and smell.

There were no eyewitnesses to the fight, but Trapp & Geller were able to prove that the venue was negligent in its failure to provide adequate security for the event.

Our client was an 80-year old grandmother traveling from New Jersey to Illinois for her granddaughter’s graduation. The crash occurred in Indiana. The client’s vehicle was struck by a traveling nurse who worked in Illinois and Indiana for a large healthcare provider. The client suffered a subdural hematoma requiring brain surgery at Loyola Hospital, but never recovered from her injuries and died in the hospital. Trapp & Geller were able to establish that Illinois applied to the case overcoming the harsh effects of Indiana’s caps on personal injury cases.

37-year old client injured at a Power Construction Jobsite when material fell off a Laddervator Hoist. The client suffered a fractured vertebra in his neck and a fractured ankle and required surgery. Trapp & Geller filed a lawsuit against Power Construction and against the manufacturer of the hoist and the company that rented the hoist. After numerous depositions and tireless investigations, the case was mediated and settled for a total amount of $1,240,000 and a waiver of the worker’s compensation lien. The client was back to work 6 months after the accident.

25-year old driver suffered a head injury and a 22-year old passenger suffered a lumbar herniated disc requiring a fusion surgery. Clients had a previous attorney who recommended they accept a significantly lower settlement amount. Trapp & Geller took over the case and secured a 7 figure settlement for the clients and their families.

A family of a youth killed by a train filed suit against the railroad for failing to take precautions when the railroad knew the children frequently played on the tracks in the area. In fact, the railroad tracks were adjacent to a park where a big hole had been cut into a fence which the children would use to cut across the railroad tracks. On the day of the occurrence, other trains had warned the dispatcher of the presence of youngsters in the vicinity of the railroad tracks. The dispatcher failed to alert the trains and two children were killed. Jamie M. Trapp represented the estate of one of the children and received $1.2 million.

Jeremy Geller received this verdict on behalf of a 54-year old client who was injured when another driver crossed over the centerline, striking the client’s vehicle head-on. The client had shoulder pain but waited 12 days to seek any medical treatment. The client ultimately was diagnosed with a torn rotator cuff and torn labrum, requiring arthroscopic surgery. The client had $72,000 in medical bills. Mr. Geller made a “Bad Faith Demand” to the insurance company to tender its policy limits, which were only $20,000, but the insurance company failed to make an offer. Mr. Geller filed a lawsuit and prosecuted the case all the way to the verdict. At trial, the defendant’s lawyer recommended a verdict of $5,000, but the jury found in the Plaintiff’s favor a tremendous verdict of $1,122,487.48. This verdict was on the front page of the Cook County Law Bulletin for the extraordinary result.

A 30-year-old construction worker was at a construction site and creating forms when a concrete wall fell on him causing knee and shoulder injuries. The suit was filed against the masonry company and general contractor and case settled for $1,100,000 a month before trial.

A Cook County jury awarded more than $1.1 million to a man who sustained shoulder injuries in a head-on crash in Waukegan. Martin Bader and his wife, Julia, sued Giovanni Melendez-Ortiz in 2015, alleging that Melendez-Ortiz was negligent when he crossed the center line on Green Bay Road near Keith Avenue and drove the wrong-way down Green Bay.

Chicago police captain presented to the hospital where he was admitted due to low back pain. He was unable to urinate and complained to the nurses who advised the doctor. He suffered compression of his spinal cord resulting in a $1,000,000 settlement.

A 76-year old patient suffering from manic depression was prescribed lithium by her physicians. They failed to monitor her lithium levels, which was required. She suffered lithium toxicity which occurred due to a doctor prescribing other drugs.

A school bus driver, with an impeccable safety record, was injured when a boom of a crane on the back of a truck swung, striking the front of the bus and causing head and brain injuries to the bus driver. This case was settled at trial for $1 million.

A Metra Carman was pulling a heavy tarp at work and the tarp snagged on a bent and dangerous piece of railroad track which caused the worker to suffer a herniated disc and annular tear in the L5-S1 disc in his lower back. The worker required a disc replacement surgery but was returned back to work. Metra and its supervisors denied any wrongdoing and denied that the worker’s injuries were related to the incident and made no offers to settle the case. Jeremy Geller from Trapp & Geller prepared the case for trial and four days before the trial was set to begin, Metra offered $1 million to settle the case.

A janitor working for the city of Chicago was injured when a Chicago police officer operating her patrol car in the wrong direction on a busy Chicago street collided head-on with the janitor’s vehicle resulting in a herniated disc. The city of Chicago refused to make an offer on the case. A jury found in favor of the janitor in the amount of $980,000.

An environmental technician was hired to perform cleanup at a train derailment. While at the derailment site he fell 3 feet onto a metal rod and was impaled. Our 27-year-old client suffered serious internal injuries but returned to work with no restrictions within a year.

Our client was a mason and was doing stonework at a new construction site. Trapp & Geller were able to prove that the ground that ladder was on was uneven and unsafe and that General Contractor on site was responsible for the safety and should have provided a flat surface to work upon. The client suffered a neck injury and required cervical fusion surgery.

A woman on her way to church tripped over a parking barrier, which had been pushed onto the sidewalk by vehicles using a nearby parking lot. The parking lot had been cited on previous occasions for obstructing traffic on the sidewalk. Despite the fact that the property owner had received numerous complaints, warnings, and citations regarding these parking barriers, nothing was done to prevent the parking barriers from being moved. The woman suffered injuries to both her shoulders and her neck. Just before trial, the woman received $800,000.

A Metra railroad employee was injured when he was using the freight elevator at the Metra Building located at 547 W. Jackson in Chicago. As the Metra employee was making deliveries, the elevator stopped short, jolting the client’s back and causing a herniated disc. The client ultimately required a laminectomy surgery to his lumbar spine and was placed on restrictions from returning to his normal work as a railroad employee. Trapp & Geller were able to uncover a longstanding history of entrapments and unsafe elevator operations by Schindler Elevator Company and Metra Railroad in the manner in which they maintained and repaired the elevator.

A 65-year-old woman tripped and fell entering a Meijer Super Market in Homer Glen and suffered wrist and back injuries. The woman tripped entering the shopping cart area where Meijer had failed to barricade an extension cord that was being used in the area.

A young mother was shopping for her child at a Chicago-area toy store where youngsters, in the adjacent aisle, were shooting baskets when an errant shot attempt struck her in the head causing a herniated disc. This case settled for $750,000.

A woman suffered burns to her shoulders when a pressure cooker she was using to can beans exploded resulting in burns to her shoulders.

A 75-year-old woman was struck by a FedEx Delivery Truck that was going in reverse at 1 mile per hour. As a result of the impact, the client suffered injuries to her knees and lower back and had surgery. The client had severe pre-existing arthritis in her knees, but Trapp & Geller were able to prove that the accident severely aggravated the client’s knee problems and caused her need for surgery.

Verdict for a 33-year-old client who was hit by a Mack truck and suffered a shoulder injury. The client required arthroscopic surgery for the biceps tenodesis and torn rotator cuff. The insurance company made multiple offers before the trial, but offers were rejected and Trapp & Geller got more than double the final offer.

Settlement for a 52-year-old carpenter who was struck by a commercial delivery vehicle. The client suffered a neck injury and required a laminectomy but returned to work 2 months later. Case settled at mediation without any depositions.

A 56-year-old woman was walking into a local supermarket after church and slipped and fell on a wet floor. The client suffered a torn meniscus and fractured patella and required surgery.

A civil engineer riding his bicycle to work was “clotheslined” by a rope in a shopping mall that was not flagged or otherwise marked. The bicyclist did not see the rope, which had been placed by mall employees so that they would have choice parking spots at the mall. The engineer suffered a herniated disc to his neck. He recovered $525,000.

A Chicago fireman responding to a fire in the Chicago area was seriously injured as he was climbing the rear porch of a multi-unit building when it collapsed, fracturing his ankle. The fireman was a captain for the Chicago Fire Department. The fireman recovered $500,000 for his injuries.

A neighborhood Fourth of July party ended badly when various adults at the party lit dangerous fireworks. One of the fireworks exploded and injured an 8-year old girl 100 feet away. The child received $500,000 for her injuries.

A 44-year-old woman was on her way to go shopping with her sister in December when she slipped on black ice on her sister’s driveway. The woman suffered a fracture to her tibia and fibula and required surgery for her injuries. Although it had snowed and rained for days before the fall, Jeremy Geller from Trapp & Geller was able to demonstrate that the ice was an “unnatural accumulation” that developed as a result of a faulty downspout on the house property. The insurance company tendered their policy limits to settle the case for $500,000.

A 45-year-old woman suffered a broken wrist and shoulder injury when another driver went through a stop sign and crashed into the client. State Farm insured the responsible driver and they paid the applicable insurance policy limits to settle the case.

Settlement for husband and wife who were injured when their vehicle was struck by a semi-truck on Interstate 80. Our clients were injured when a semi-truck improperly shifted lanes and side-swiped a car causing shoulder and neck injuries. The case was settled a month before trial.

While shopping at a local big-box retailer, a 26-year-old man suffered serious injuries to his back when part of a display fell onto him, which required back surgery. Investigation of the case showed that the display was set up contrary to the manufacturer’s recommendations. The client received $475,000.

Our client was a carpenter working at a local home doing drywall and painting work. While at work, our client slipped off a ladder and fell 20 feet, and suffered a concussion. There was no treatment or complaints for 8 months and then no treatment for an additional 16 months, and then the client had neck fusion surgery. Trapp & Geller defeated numerous motions to dismiss the case, and the case settled a month before trial.

Our 52-year-old client was t-boned while driving to work in Will county. The client had previous problems with her neck and was already seeing a chiropractor for neck problems, but the accident made her neck worse and Trapp & Geller were able to prove that client’s surgery was caused by the car accident.

An 87-year-old unmarried resident of a nursing home with no children choked on food in the nursing home dining hall and ultimately died from injuries. The nursing home initially denied liability, but Trapp & Geller filed suit to ensure recovery for the Estate.

88-year-old nursing home resident choked & died on food. The nursing home staff failed to properly cut up the food and failed to provide the client with a proper liquid diet.

Verdict for a 68-year-old disabled woman who was wheelchair-bound and unable to walk and slipped in her bathroom and suffered burns on her knee from a defective heating system in her bathroom floor. Landlord’s insurance never made an offer and Trapp & Geller secured a significant verdict for the client and her family.

A 72-year-old passenger on a CTA bus suffered a shoulder injury when the bus short stopped at a railroad crossing. Trapp & Geller filed suit immediately to secure a video that showed the accident and proved that the CTA Bus driver was negligent. The client suffered a torn rotator cuff and had surgery.

A 54-year-old woman stepped into a concealed hole in front of the defendant’s medical center and injured her knee, which required surgery. The offer at trial was $8,000. A jury awarded $350,000.

Verdict for a truck driver who was driving a tractor-trailer and was struck by the defendant’s car. Our client suffered a shoulder injury and had surgery. The defendant’s insurance company never offered a penny to settle and proceeded to trial. After a 1 week trial, Trapp & Geller secured a verdict in excess of $100,000 insurance policy limits. After trial, State Farm paid the entire verdict.

A 58-year-old unemployed artist was walking down the street when he was struck by a Chicago taxi and suffered a torn rotator cuff and had surgery. Our client had a great recovery and was released from treatment within 6 months. Case settled without filing a lawsuit.

Our client was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by a drunk driver who had state minimum in insurance. The drunk driver made a turn and was struck by an oncoming semi-truck. Trapp & Geller were able to prove that the semi was driving too fast for conditions and secured recovery from the commercial insurance policy.

Three cousins were traveling when they were rear-ended by a semi-truck on Interstate 80. The truck failed to reduce speed and one of the cousins was knocked unconscious in the accident. Each of the clients required physical therapy and fully recovered from their injuries.

A pedestrian was walking against the light, at night and was struck by a vehicle and suffered a fractured tibia requiring open reduction with internal fixation surgery.

A Semi Truck was making a turn on the south side and made a wide turn and side-swiped the client causing neck and back injuries. The client required physical therapy and then underwent a sequence of pain management injections.

An 85-year-old client was at a nursing home when they slipped and fell and suffered a subdural hematoma and were hospitalized. Trapp Geller was able to prove that the Nursing Home failed to provide proper fall protection and failed to properly supervise the client in violation of the Nursing Home Care Act.

A 48-year-old client was rear-ended and suffered elbow and shoulder injuries. Our client did not receive treatment for 18 months and then had surgery. Trapp & Geller were able to prove that the injury and surgery for an ulnar neuropathy were related to the accident to secure settlement.

A part-time employee of a vending machine company was filling the candy machine at a rest area. An employee working at the rest area allegedly became insane for no reason and beat the 62-year old, 5’4″, 150-pound man into unconsciousness. Although the toll-way employee was found criminally insane at the time of the hearing, there were sufficient warnings to his employer that the toll-way employee was delusional and violent. The case settled for $230,000.

A 3-year-old was nipped on the nose by a neighbor’s dog and had a 1 cm laceration on the nostril. The client went to the Emergency Room and had stitches and had 2 follow-up visits and was discharged from treatment and has made an excellent recovery. Trapp & Geller were able to structure the client’s settlement to provide for college tuition payments.