On February 3, 2006, Ronald Leonard was working as a truck driver for D.C.S. Trucking Company and was working at a construction project along the shoulder of the eastbound lanes of Interstate 90 in Dundee Township, Illinois. Mr. Leonard was helping Kenny Construction employees disassemble a lattice boom in order to transport the boom to the westbound lanes of Interstate 90. He was injured when Kenny Construction employees were swinging the initial 45 foot portion without tag-lines, causing the boom to move wildly over Mr. Leonard and into a lane of moving traffic on I-90. The boom was struck by a tractor-trailer and propelled back into Mr. Leonard, striking him in the head and chest. As a result of being struck by the lattice boom, Mr. Leonard suffered multiple facial fractures requiring extensive surgeries and treatment.
Joseph A. Power, Jr. and Sean M. Houlihan of Power Rogers, represented Mr. Leonard and filed suit against Kenny Construction Company alleging its negligence was the cause of his injuries. Kenny Construction Company subsequently filed a complaint for contribution against Celadon Trucking Services and Ronald Bicksler alleging that their negligence also contributed to Mr. Leonard’s injuries. Kenny Construction admitted fault to being a cause of Mr. Leonard’s injuries and settled its cause of action with him for $3.1 million dollars to compensate him for his injuries. As further part of that settlement agreement, Kenny Construction assigned its claim for contribution against Celadon Trucking Services and Ronald Bicksler to Mr. Leonard to pursue.
Mr. Leonard’s attorneys pursued the claim for contribution against Celadon Trucking Services and Ronald Bicksler as an assignee of Kenny Construction Company. The claim for contribution alleged that Celadon Trucking and its driver Ronald Biskler were partially liable for Mr. Leonard’s injuries due to Mr. Bicksler’s failing to keep a proper lookout for construction hazards, failing to slow down his tractor trailer to avoid construction hazards and failing to move into the adjacent lane of traffic as he approached and entered a construction zone, pursuant to Illinois statute.
It was alleged by Mr. Leonard that these various failures were a cause of the lattice boom being struck by the tractor-trailer and being propelled back into Mr. Leonard. This case proceeded to trial. During trial, Defendants Celadon Trucking Services and Ronald Bicksler agreed to settle this matter for $150,000.00. Prior to trial, the Defendants had offered $20,000.00 to settle which Mr. Leonard as assignee for Kenny Construction, rejected.
Due to the assignment of the Kenny Construction action for contribution against Celadon Trucking Services and Ronald Bicksler, Mr. Leonard was compensated an additional $150,000.00 further supplementing the prior 3.1 million dollar settlement with Kenny Construction Company he had received for compensation for his injuries. For more information on that settlement, please click here.