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Wednesday, April 29, 2009
$13 Million Awarded in Wrongful Death Case
On August, 2004, one Christopher Maher, aged approximately 20, was test-driving a BMW in the Chicago area. In the back seat were two of his friends. In the front passenger seat was the dealership salesman, one Roger Czapski, aged 22.
Maher accelerated along a busy suburban road to about 95 mph, collided with a vehicle turning into a church driveway, bounced against a light pole, and exploded. Maher and his friends survived but the salesman was killed. He was pronounced dead at the accident scene.
Last week, in a Cook County Circuit Court, a jury awarded the salesman’s family $13.7 million for their son’s wrongful death. The trial lasted a week. The defense attorneys complained that some evidence was excluded from the trial that they thought should have been admitted. They claimed that Czapski contributed to his own death by allowing Maher to speed and to test-drive the BMW outside the established test-drive route.
Maher had been given a citation for driving 40 mph over the posted speed limit in that area, and had pleaded guilty. However, he had apparently been blaming Czapski for the accident during the four plus years between the accident and trial.
However, the jury did not see things that way. They found that Maher was 98 percent responsible for the fatal accident and Czapski only two percent responsible.
Czapski’s family is in deep grief. Wrongful death is a difficult event to deal with, when a loved one is killed because of another person’s negligence. If you have been trying to cope with such a situation, why not contact our wrongful death attorneys for a free case evaluation and some answers to your questions.
Maher accelerated along a busy suburban road to about 95 mph, collided with a vehicle turning into a church driveway, bounced against a light pole, and exploded. Maher and his friends survived but the salesman was killed. He was pronounced dead at the accident scene.
Last week, in a Cook County Circuit Court, a jury awarded the salesman’s family $13.7 million for their son’s wrongful death. The trial lasted a week. The defense attorneys complained that some evidence was excluded from the trial that they thought should have been admitted. They claimed that Czapski contributed to his own death by allowing Maher to speed and to test-drive the BMW outside the established test-drive route.
Maher had been given a citation for driving 40 mph over the posted speed limit in that area, and had pleaded guilty. However, he had apparently been blaming Czapski for the accident during the four plus years between the accident and trial.
However, the jury did not see things that way. They found that Maher was 98 percent responsible for the fatal accident and Czapski only two percent responsible.
Czapski’s family is in deep grief. Wrongful death is a difficult event to deal with, when a loved one is killed because of another person’s negligence. If you have been trying to cope with such a situation, why not contact our wrongful death attorneys for a free case evaluation and some answers to your questions.
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posted by Benjamin A. Irwin at 3:29 PM
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