CHICAGO, IL — April 2026 – Meyers & Flowers attorneys Craig Brown, Frank Cesarone, and Nicholas Flowers successfully obtained a $16.35 million settlement on behalf of a 58-year old gentleman who suffered a spinal cord injury while making a delivery to a national retail store.
The client, a professional truck driver, was injured in the fall of 2022 following the retailer’s mandatory delivery process. The mandate forced Drivers to use a specific cart and pull it, off trucks and through loading docks, during the delivery process. The mandate was in direct violation of the manufacturer’s instruction.
On this day, the cart was loaded and weighed in excess of 600-700 pounds. As the client pulled it from his trailer, across the dock leveler, and onto the loading dock, the cart’s wheels encountered a rut in the concrete floor just beyond the edge of the dock leveler. Due to the top-heavy nature of the loaded cart, the cart toppled over and crushed the client.
The injuries were devastating. The client suffered severe spinal injuries that required surgical intervention and prolonged rehabilitation. He continues to experience significant, ongoing medical complications that will impact him for the rest of his life.
Evidence showed the retailer knew well before this incident that its mandatory use of the wheeled carts was unreasonably dangerous. Prior to this incident, there were numerous complaints and reports of these carts tipping and/or drivers being injured during deliveries, with at least 30 similar incidents reported nationwide.
The Meyers & Flowers legal team’s investigation revealed the retailer had breached several important safety obligations, including its duty to provide a safe environment and safe delivery mechanisms for business invitees. The investigation also identified multiple OSHA standard violations, including failures to keep the area free of hazards, to provide safe means of access and egress, and to ensure walking-working surfaces were maintained in a safe condition.
“This was a completely preventable incident,” said Craig Brown, Partner at Meyers & Flowers. “Our client was doing exactly what the retailer required of him when a dangerous delivery system they knew about forever changed his life.”
“This settlement reflects accountability,” said Frank Cesarone, Partner at Meyers & Flowers. “National retailers have a responsibility to provide safe delivery conditions, rather than knowingly putting workers in harm’s way. This case sends a clear message that known hazards cannot be ignored.”
The $16.35 million settlement provides critical financial security for the client and his family as he continues to live with permanent, life-altering injuries along with an obligation by Defendants to resolve the Client’s nearly $3 million workers’ compensation lien. The settlement will provide the client with the financial means to cover his lifelong medical care, rehabilitation, and daily needs.
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About Meyers & Flowers
Led by Illinois Top 100 Super Lawyer and former President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association, Peter J. Flowers, the Meyers & Flowers’ team of experienced trial attorneys routinely take on large challenges and succeed. For more than two decades, the firm has represented clients both locally in Chicago and nationally in a full spectrum of cases involving catastrophic personal injuries, sexual abuse, medical malpractice, product liability and corporate litigation.
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