Volume 159, No. 244

Jury awards $4.1M toinjured CTA worker

BY JOHN FLYNN ROONEYLaw Bulletin staff writer

A Cook County jury hasawarded about $4.1 million to aman who was severely injuredafter falling 20 feet through ahole at a Chicago TransitAuthority construction site onthe Brown Line.The award would have been

higher — about $7.5 million —but jurors found the plaintiff,James Glenn, nearly half at faultfor the accident.Glenn was working as a flagger

for the CTA at its SouthportAvenue station on a walkway attrack level on Feb. 15, 2008.Glenn’s job was to stop the trainsso that construction workerscould get off the elevated tracks.Glenn slipped on a patch of ice

and then fell through the holeand landed on the sidewalk, saidRonald Kalish, who representedhim at trial along with Bruce D.Goodman, both of Steinberg,Goodman & Kalish.Glenn suffered a crushed

pelvis, broken back and otherinjures. He also ruptured his intes-

tines, needed emergency surgeryand was hospitalized for sevenweeks at Advocate IllinoisMasonic Medical Center inChicago.Due to his injuries, Glenn has

not worked since the accident,Kalish said.FHP Techtonics Corp. was the

general contractor for the BrownLine project. Garth ConstructionServices Corp. was the subcon-tractor. They were named as

defendants in the lawsuit.Glenn’s attorneys asserted

that the defendants failed toprovide a safe construction site.They also argued that the defen-dants violated an OccupationalSafety & Health Administrationregulation that any constructionemployees working at a heightabove 6 feet must be protectedfrom falling through holes.The plaintiff lawyers further

contended that the defendants’construction contract with theCTA required them to provide asafe workplace.Glenn’s lawyers asked the jury

for an award of about $20 millionin damages.Lawyers for the defendants

argued that Glenn wascompletely at fault in theaccident and that the hole was anopen and obvious danger.Before the trial, the plaintiff

lawyers voluntarily dismissed sixother defendants named in thecase, including the CTA.The jury awarded the verdict

on Dec. 6, following a 10-day trialbefore Cook County AssociateJudge Elizabeth M. Budzinski.The case is James Glenn v. FHPTectonics Corp., Garth ConstructionServices Corp.,No. 08 L 5448.After factoring in Glenn’s

contributory negligence of 45percent on the more than $7.5million award, the figure wasreduced to roughly $4.1 million.The jury found FHP Tectonics

Corp. 30 percent at fault andGarth Construction Services 25percent responsible for theaccident.Kalish said he expected the

jury to attribute some negligenceto Glenn, but that the 45 percentfigure was high. Glenn had anexpectation that the hole he fellthrough would be covered,Kalish said.“This verdict will remind

construction companies thatthey not only have to provide asafe place for these workers,”Kalish said, “but having anopening above a residentialstreet poses a risk to drivers andpedestrians below who couldhave just as easily been injuredfrom a tool or object fallingthrough this opening.”Glenn, 44, is the father of two

children, 14 and 21, who live withhim in Hazel Crest and help carefor him, Kalish said.The verdict “gives (Glenn)

some comfort knowing that hewon’t be a burden on hischildren” because he will be ableto pay for care, Kalish said.The defendants offered $3

million to settle the case afterthe jurors informed the judgethat they had reached a verdictbut before it was announced,Kalish said. Glenn turned downthe offer.Daniel A. Cummings III and

Robin K. Powers — bothpartners at Rothschild, Barry &Myers LLP — represented thedefendants at trial. NeitherCummings nor Powers could notbe reached for comment.

Copyright © 2014 Law Bulletin Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from Law Bulletin Publishing Company.

Plaintiff found to be 45percent at fault, cuttingverdict from $7.5 million

CHICAGOLAWBULLETIN.COM FRIDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2013

Ronald Kalish

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