Daniel P. Costello & Associates is continuing a very successful 2016 with two more complete defense verdicts at trial. Combined, these plaintiffs asked for nearly $1.5 million at trial.
Jones v. West Cook YMCA
The 68 year-old Plaintiff broke her wrist when she slipped and fell on a pool deck. Plaintiff retained a parks and recreation expert with over 40 years of experience to contend that the West Cook YMCA was negligent in eight different ways. Among other allegations, Plaintiff argued that the defendant should have installed rubber mats, abrasive stripping, or handrails on the pool deck. After six witnesses testified over four days, Plaintiff requested nearly $400,000.00 in damages. For the defense, Jessica Biagi from Daniel P. Costello & Associates, LLC, fought zealously to deny fault and prove the Defendant's affirmative defense of contributory negligence. Both YMCA employees and a professional engineer testified that the floor was sufficiently slip-resistant and reasonably safe. Within fifteen minutes of deliberation, the jury returned a complete defense verdict.
Sustek v. First Choice Landscaping
After the Plaintiff, a 53 year semi truck driver injured his knee after falling into a 10" x 10" hole in the parkway while removing fallen leaves, he filed suit against Peoples Gas, Northern Pipeline, Jacobs Engineering, and First Choice Landscaping. Prior to trial, Plaintiff settled with all the other entities, leaving only the premises liability claim against First Choice Landscaping. Plaintiff requested $1,081,110.05 million at the end of a jury trial, including $83,527 in past medical bills, $9,436 in lost wages and future medical for a possible knee replacement. The trial lasted 8 days and included fifteen witnesses, including three experts, one of which was an expert in soils. For the defense, Susan Bledsoe of Daniel P. Costello & Associates fought zealously to deny fault and prove that First Choice landscaping had no knowledge that a void created by another defendant was festering under the surface of the new sod, only coming to light after 2 weeks of excessive watering by the plaintiff. The jury properly returned a verdict of not guilty in favor of Defendant First Choice Landscaping.
