When you swim with sharks, sometimes you get bit.
Editor’s comment: An injured worker whose Illinois workers’ compensation claim was dismissed due to his lawyer’s negligence may recover after all. A southern Illinois jury considered the case against a St. Louis lawyer in the face of allegations a claimant was left high and dry when his claim was dismissed for want of prosecution.
After deliberations, the jury handed down a verdict ordering the St. Louis lawyer and her firm to pay $338,000. The worker sued his former attorney and her law firm in 2007, claiming he would have received nearly $400,000 in benefits had his lawyer properly handled his case. The defense claimed he would have only received $75,000 for BAW—sounds like a typical oral argument at the IWCC.
Plaintiff alleged his counsel allowed his case to be dismissed by the Illinois Workers’ Compensation Commission for lack of prosecution in August 2005, and then she failed to timely file for reinstatement. He also claimed the attorney failed to advise him of the adverse action until approximately November 2006; more than a year after his claim was permanently barred.
We note another veteran Petitioner’s attorney; Jon Rosenstengel was the lead expert for Plaintiff in the case against a fellow attorney. Ouch.
Our vote for everyone reading this is to get ready and go–try your cases!! What may be most painful to the lawyers reading this article is that prior to trial, the Circuit Court granted Plaintiff summary judgment on the issue of the lawyer’s negligence. Then jurors deliberated just over an hour on damages only before arriving at their six-figure verdict. Hey, at least Defendant didn’t get hit with penalties/fees!!!
We thank our reader for the tip on this ruling. The complete article is on the web at: http://madisonrecord.com/news/216947-jury-awards-monetary-damages-in-legal-malpractice-trial. Please don’t hesitate to provide your thoughts and comments.
