$4.5 million settlement for woman injured in Rock County, Wis. car crash

ROCK COUNTY, Wis. (September 12, 2023) – Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. recently obtained a $4.5 million settlement on behalf of a woman who was seriously injured in a Rock County, Wisconsin car crash.

On August 31, 2019, Plaintiff Jennifer Ellis, 45, was riding as a passenger in an SUV traveling southbound on I-39/90 at Mile Marker 168.2 near Janesville, Wisconsin with her two children and boyfriend. The vehicle carrying Ms. Ellis was passing a commercial truck for Complete Conveying Services, LLC driven by Andrew Bainbridge, when the truck’s front left tire blew out.  The failure of the tire caused the CCS truck to lurch from the right lane into the left lane, striking the vehicle carrying Ms. Ellis. The force of the impact caused Ms. Ellis to be completely ejected from the vehicle. Unfortunately, she was not wearing a seatbelt and she was ejected from the SUV. She was transported by ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Janesville.

As a result of the collision, Ms. Ellis was diagnosed with multiple fractures, a torn aorta, and had to undergo multiple surgeries.

A Plaintiff’s expert reconstructionist found numerous deficiencies with Defendants’ vehicle, with the foremost being that the front axle of CCS’s truck was overweight and there were indications that the tag axle, which is responsible for properly distributing weight on the truck, was not properly working at the time of the crash. In addition, Plaintiffs attorneys discovered that CCS had the truck inspected six months prior to the crash and noted deficiencies with the front left steer tire that ultimately blew out. There is no document and there has been no testimony that anyone at CCS did anything to address it.

On August 29, 2023 , the parties agreed to settled the case for $4,500,000 during a mediation with Michael P. Crooks.

“CCS put profits over safety and it resulted in our client suffering catastrophic injuries. This settlement will allow Jennifer to continue to seek treatment for her ongoing pain and other limitations,” Plaintiff’s attorney Aaron D. Boeder said.

The Plaintiff was also represented by Tara R. Devine and Jaclyn J. Kurth of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C.

For more information, please contact Marcie Mangan at (312) 372-1227 or mmangan@salvilaw.com.

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