CASE REPORT
Martha Avila v Chicago Transit Authority 16L-3548 (refiled from 09L-6365) Tried Sep. 6-18, 2018
VERDICT: Not Guilty. Special Interrogatories: Was Martha Avila’s contributory negligence more than 50% of the total proximate cause of her injury? “Yes.” Was the sole proximate cause of Martha Avila’s injuries natural accumulation of ice or water or freezing rain? “No.” Was there a condition on the property, other than ice or water or freezing rain, which presented an unreasonable risk of harm to people on the property? “No.” Could CTA reasonably expect that people on the property would not discover or realize the danger or would fail to protect them- selves against such danger? “Yes.”
Gerald T. Donoghue Gerald Donoghue is a Managing Attorney with the Chicago Transit Authority Law De- partment, Torts Division. He defends high- exposure bus, rail, and premises personal injury and wrongful death cases. Gerald is an active member of the CTA Diversity, In- clusion & Belonging (DIB) Advisory Council and the Illinois Defense Counsel, where he serves on the Diversity and Inclusion Com- mittee. In addition, Gerald serves as a men- tor to students at Loyola University Chicago School of Law through the Chicago Bar As- sociation Mentorship Program.
JUDGE: Thomas More Donnelly (IL Cook-Law)
PLTF ATTY(S): Peter V. Bustamante of Peter V. Bustamante (Chicago, IL), Timothy J. Cavenagh of Timothy J. Cavenagh P.C.(Chicago, IL) DEMAND: $1,000,000 ASKED: $14,500,000 DEFT ATTY(S): Gerald T. Donoghue, Anne M. Madormo of C.T.A. Law Dept. (Chicago, IL) (Self-Insured) OFFER: $50,000 withdrawn PLTF MEDL: Dr. Sarmed Elias (Orthopedist), Dr. Nicole Wysocki (Rehab/ Physical Medicine)
DEFT MEDL: Dr. Dale Kaufman (Emergency Medicine)
PLTF EXPERT(S): G. Allen Brin (Architect)
DEFT EXPERT(S): Dr. Samuel J. Chmell (Orthopedist)
On the morning of December 24, 2009, pltf F-34 exited the CTA Randolph/ Wabash “L” train station around 6:50 a.m., but slipped and fell while walking down the staircase from the mezzanine level to the street on the northeast cor- ner of the intersection. She contended she fell about seven steps due to the lack of an anti-skid plate or non-slip surface on the landing and the lack of handrails which complied with Chicago Building Code. Pltf sustained herniated discs at L4-5 and L5-S1,transverse process and bilateral pars interarticularis fractures of the L-1 vertebra, retrolisthesis, anterolisthesis, osteitispubis, torn adduc- tor longus tendon, partially torn leg muscles, lumbar radiculopathy, complex regional pain syndrome, medial branch neuropathy, and lumbar plexopathy. Treatment included several epidural steroid injections, medial branch blocks, and intradiscal electrothermal annuloplasty (IDET), and pltf claimed she will require a future lumbar fusion surgery within five years ($326,000+ medical ex - penses not submitted into evidence). The defense maintained an overnight ice storm had covered the stairs with ice, water and freezing rain, and this natural accumulation was the sole proximate cause of pltf’s fall. However, pltf denied she slipped on ice. The defense argued the landing was made from creosote- treated wood which complied with the Chicago Building Code since it was not
JURY VERDICT REPORTER • 2022 ANNUAL TRIAL LAWYER EXCELLENCE AWARDS 25
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