Corboy & Demetrio Obtains Record-breaking $3 Million for College Student Struck by Train
Corboy & Demetrio obtained a settlement of $3,000,000 on behalf of 20-year-old college student, Willam C. Jordan, Jr., who was paralyzed in an accident on the city’s South Side in 1975, when he was struck by a Chicago & Eastern Illinois R.R. Co. train. On the seventh day of trial, the railroad company agreed to settle.
The accident occurred at the railroad’s crossing of 97th Street and Eggleston Avenue on Jan. 11, 1975, as Jordan was driving home. The train was backing up and struck Jordan’s car, dragging him nearly 300 feet.
William was unable to walk or talk after the crash and was forced to eat and breathe through tubes.
Corboy & Demetrio presented evidence that Jordan was injured because of the lack of safety devices, flashing lights and gates, at the crossing. Flashing lights and gates were not installed until Sept. 23, 1975, eight months after the crash.
William was a freshman at the Illinois Institute of Technology and is the son of a Chicago policeman. He was a former football player at Mount Carmel High School and an actor.
The settlement, obtained on May 10, 1977, was the largest personal injury award in the history of Illinois involving a single plaintiff, according to the Cook County Jury Verdict Reporter.
