Roger lived with his wife Donna in a 4 story condominium complex in Palatine. On July 30, 2013, Roger returned home from work and realized he accidentally dropped his cell phone down the trash chute that was down the hall from their 4th floor condo. The trash chute emptied into a trash compactor that was located in a locked room in the basement.
A member of the Condo Association gave Roger a key to the trash compactor room so Roger could look for his phone. Tragically, Roger was crushed to death in the compactor as he searched for his phone.
Trial lawyers Craig Brown, Ted Meyers and Mike Lenert represented Donna in a wrongful death and survival action. “When we were first asked to investigate the case, we were obviously concerned that Roger’s own comparative negligence would prevent us from winning the case for Donna,” said Craig Brown. “However, as we dug deeper, we were able to prove the condo board was grossly negligent for allowing Roger unsupervised access to the trash compactor room because they should have known Roger had no idea how the machine worked and Roger was not aware how dangerous the machine was when he entered the room. He never should have been given unsupervised access to the machine.”
The case settled after the Meyers & Flowers litigation team developed their litigation theme through written discovery and as a result of testimony obtained during 12 depositions.
“Craig and his team at Meyers & Flowers came to the correct conclusion, of what happened to Roger, in a timely manner,” Donna said. “They were sensitive to my needs and stayed focused on the case. When Craig shared the news of the settlement, I felt a big weight was lifted off of me. I did this for Roger. I am relieved to have closure. I want to give a big thank you to all at Meyers & Flowers. Any time I called, they addressed my needs right away and everyone was pleasant and efficient. They were there for me at the time I needed them.”