A Cook County jury has awarded $104 million verdict to two men injured in an Interstate 90 construction zone car crash in Elgin in which one of them was left a quadriplegic.
Rob Rosā and Michael Johnson filed suit against the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority alleging negligence in the design and setup of a construction zone near the Fox River bridge that they say caused the March 2016 incident in which one person was killed and five injured.
The married couple were among six passengers in a limousine headed to O’Hare International Airport to catch a plane for a vacation. Their driver failed to maneuver a work zone curve and lane shift that was part of the construction project that resulted in the vehicle striking a concrete barrier and flipping over.
Joelle McGinnis, deputy chief of communications for the Illinois Tollway, said the agency was evaluating the verdict and declined further comment.
Rob Rosā and Michael Johnson were represented by the Cavanagh Sorich Law Group, which presented evidence that only one of six required signs was in place warning drivers of the curve and lane shift when the crash occurred, according to a new release from the firm.
“If the required signs were in place, the crash probably would not have occurred because the limo driver would have had warning about the dangerous curve and lane shift,” attorney Timothy J. Cavanagh said in the news release.
“Even if it had occurred, if the temporary construction barrier had been designed and built according to required safety standards, the crash would not have been nearly as serious. The limousine would not have overturned, and Rob Rosā would not have been rendered a quadriplegic.”
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Prior to the verdict, the law firm reached a settlement with the limousine company and engineering firms hired by Illinois Tollway officials. The driver pleaded guilty in Kane County court to not having a commercial driver’s license, which is required in Illinois but not in Wisconsin, where the limo service was based, Cavanagh said in an interview Thursday.
The Illinois Tollway “get no breaks for being a quasi-government entity,” he said. “They are like any other property owner. You have to keep your property reasonably safe for people. … I hope they get the message.”
The devastating consquences for Rosā and Johnson are something they will have to deal with “for as long as they live,” he said.
Not only did Rosā lose his life as an independent and athletic person with a successful career, Johnson had quit his job to become his husband’s full-time caretaker, Cavanagh said.
“We now have the peace of mind that my medical needs and daily care will be taken care of, and that is a great relief,” Rosā said in the release. “But I live in pain 24 hours a day. No amount of money will take that away or give us back the way of life we have lost.”
Gloria Casas is a freelance reporter for The Courier-News.